Spiderman Comes Home
by star.light1000
Summary: WARNING: SPOILERS FOR HOMECOMING. Peter Parker is a normal teenager. Spiderman is anything but normal. Here is what happens when, in a moment of chaos, a photographer gets a lucky shot and two separate lives merge into one. Despite their struggles Tony Stark and the rest of the avengers have find a way to work together, to help Peter when he cannot help himself
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Firstly, I do not own Spiderman, nor the avengers.**

 **Just a note to say that this story contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Spiderman Homecoming, which is amazing and I would really recommend.**

 **I hope you enjoy the story...**

How did I feel?

Honestly, more than a little overwhelmed. It was a rather surreal experience after all.

Around me laid destruction, a scene that you would only normally see in the movies and yet, here I was, sitting in the middle of it all with the knowledge that in the end, I caused this. The sand blowed lazily around, engulfed by great plumes of fire here and there, a stark contrast to the ever present darkness all around. A wreck lay in pieces in the middle, torn by the force of the great vulture himself, a man bird beast that was, I can now say officially, well and truly webbed.

Gotcha. Take that meanie. I childishly thought from my perch. I felt exhausted. Truly and utterly drained. My old suit was torn and tattered, the mask laid shrewd, somewhere in the wreckage but god knows where. Not to mention the fact that despite my success, I had taken more than one hit, and I really did, ache all over.

Mr Stark told me to stay away. The thought came to my head suddenly. But I didn't stay away. I disobeyed his direct orders. Blown it, I knew, already planning on how to recreate my old suit since this one was destroyed and I had no chance now of regaining my new one. I would certainly try to change those eyes in any case, Mr Stark was right about one thing – they really did look very stupid.

The silence, after all the activity, felt eerie and heavy, drawn down by the weight of all that had happened right here this night. Then, out from somewhere amongst it, a sharp flash illuminated the sky. Instantaneous, I jerked my hand up, covering my face as more flashes came. It didn't take long for the press to arrive. How Mr Stark puts up with them, I will never know. And then came the sudden realisation that changed everything.

I had no mask.

So I did the only thing I could do in the situation. I jerked up my hood from my jumper, for the first time grateful that I was wearing this suit rather than my new one, and then, I swung away. Did they get their picture? Was I quick enough? I didn't yet know. I just wanted to get out of there. I wanted to see Aunt May and sleep for about a hundred years.

Ow, was the first thing I thought the next morning, as I awoke to harsh sunlight. The light didn't hurt mind you, it seemed my body wasn't entirely healed yet. I waited there in bed, unwilling to face up to the reality that was the day ahead.

"Are you waking up or am I just going to wait here… all night" a voice echoed in a dull tone in the room. It was Mr Stark. I jerked upright immediately, ignoring my body's protests.

"I… how did… I mean, how long have you been in here," I stammered, trying to get out some words.

"Ages," Mr Stark said once more. I looked at him a little closer now, he was, in typically Stark style, eating a croissant carelessly, wearing his normal, not-a-suit-Stark-attire, and was currently waiting in my bedroom, for me to wake up. Doesn't he have better things to be doing right now than this?

"Mr Stark," I said, getting to my feet and trying to make myself look even a little more presentable. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice work last night." He said slowly, "You did well, and…" There was a long pause, "and you're right. I did underestimate you. For that I'm sorry."

"Wait, you're not mad? You told me not to get involved."

"Yeah well, you did the right thing." He took a large bite from his croissant, possibly to fill the awkward silence, maybe just because he was hungry. "Don't make me say that again." He finished a long while later, to my amused look. I waited for him to take the final bite. Then he licked his fingers, chucked the plastic bag into my waste bin and looked at me, like really looked at me.

"You have a problem now though." He said seriously. He slowly pulled out a Stark phone, all the time wishing to delay this part. Then, he showed me what was on it.

It was a picture, but a picture of me as Spiderman. My hand half covered up my face, but to me there was no doubt as to who that person was. It was Peter Parker. I took a deep heavy breath, turning away and gazing out the window.

I felt trapped – there was a reason I kept my identity a secret. Now everyone would be after me 24/7. I would become a celebrity, never able to get a minutes peace. Never being able to live like a normal teenage, or to swing through the skies lazily. Crimes and robbers would now know who to watch out for, and would avoid me like a plague. Worse still, they would gang up to get me. I made some pretty big enemies over the months since I became Spiderman. I would never be safe from them. My friends would never be safe, nor, worse of all, would Aunt May.

This was a disaster.

"How long have I got?" I asked Mr Stark heavily, dreading the answer.

"Your hand being in the way helps but Friday estimates less than 24 hours before the world knows your name." I fumbled around, eyeing a picture on my desk of my parents but not really seeing anything at all.

"I have a plan, but it is not all good news." Mr Stark said eventually. I turned round to face him for the first time since hearing the news. I didn't notice it before, but even he, the big man himself, looked tired and drawn

"I've planned this for a while. Just in case." He handed me a file impregnated with an ominous title. – 'Operation Parker.' I sat down on my bed once more, and opened it up slowly and deliberately.

It took a while to read through it all, and I hated every minute of it.

"You made my Aunt a new identity?" I asked eventually

"Yeah, everything she needs already available in Ohio, a new house, money, passports - she'd be safe there."

"And I'd become an avenger." I said, my long-time dream now becoming very unwanted. "I wouldn't be able to see her again."

"I wouldn't say ever again. There are ways to keep in touch, but essentially…." Mr Stark trailed off slowly, "You could move into the new avenger's base. There are things going on there right now. A signing of a new version of the accords for starters. Everyone will be there, we could keep you safe and you could train up."

I looked Mr Stark directly in the eyes, his brown ones meeting mine.

"If this really my only option." I half-heartedly agreed to his plans. "Aunt May is going to kill me."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far. It is the best response I've ever received for what was only a 1000 word chapter! I love hearing your feedback. In this chapter, I have added a few mentions of the previous Spiderman films, only to fill in some gaps in the timeline that Tom Holland's has not yet explored. It will still be predominately his version however, in case you are wondering.**

I had to tell Aunt May that I was Spiderman. No question about it. Just 3 little words. 3 words that she was going to find out about before long anyway. Everyone would. So why was I so afraid to tell her those 3 words?

"Aunt May," I said hesitantly, opening my bedroom door with a sigh and walking into the kitchen. The woman in question was sitting quietly on the sofa, a cup of coffee in one hand and leaning forward towards the TV.

"Hey Peter." She said softly. "Have you seen the news?" She asked.

"err no." I replied, cautious and a little afraid. I hadn't been Spiderman for long, but I knew enough to know that the news would contain his fight last night. This was not good news. Not one bit. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mr Stark, at my bedroom door, urging me on.

"Um, Aunt May, can I have a word?" I asked slowly

"Sure sweetie. What's up?"

"That Spiderman bloke um… He's…"

"Pretty cool I know." Aunt May interrupted me. "Don't you think he just attracts danger though? I mean, from what I can see his presence meant that plane crashed."

"Well, I suspect he had no choice. Um. What I'm trying to say is…"

"Oh I know you like him, honey. I worry too much, you know me." I scratched the back of my neck nervously.

"Aunt May. I've been keeping something from you." I said loudly, interrupting whatever train of thought she might have.

"It's that girl Liz, isn't it? I always thought…"

"What? No. No. How on earth did you come up with that one?" I replied frantically. But I couldn't let Aunt May stop me anymore. I had to tell her the truth. She deserved that much. Just 3 little words.

"I am Spiderman." I said before my nerve failed, cutting through Aunt May spiel.

The reply was only silence. A slow deafening silence that sounded so much worse than anything that could be said. The resolute fact dawning upon Aunt May was overwhelming and unexpected.

"Your…"

"Spiderman." The silence drew on a little longer. "Please say something." I said at last, begging for this moment to be over.

"What the… I don't know what to say. I…" Aunt May fumbled over her words, "Are you ok?"  
"After last night, yeah." I said quickly. Spiderman was always fine. He had to be. Aunt May's face was a picture of shock and surprise. She took a few deep breaths, trying to let her brain catch up.

"Your nephew is very talented." At last Mr Stark decided to intervene and save me. Better late than never I suppose. His swagger was put on hold and for once, it seemed as though he was deadly serious. Aunt May meant a lot to me he knew, and this could moment could go wrong in so many ways.

"The internship?"

"Not so much an internship as a mentorship." Mr Stark replied "I've been keeping an eye on him."

"This is a lot to take in." Aunt May said looking away from us for the first time since the news. She glanced at the TV, which was now showing a picture of the plane going straight into the ground. "Why are you telling me this now?" She asked eventually, "Why not before?" I looked at Mr Stark for reassurance, but he was decidedly avoiding my gaze. Perhaps he felt sorry for me.

"Because they managed to take a picture of me without my mask, and Mr Stark thinks I have less than 24 hours until everyone knows my real name. And then you'll be in danger." I said regretfully before Mr Stark intervened and showed my aunt his plans.

He seemed to talk for an age, but I quickly tuned out. All I could think about is what my aunt was not saying. I couldn't help but remember that day at the restaurant and how she said that I were to run the other way if ever I saw danger. Now, I was admitting to her that I always ran towards. What adult would want anyone they loved to do that?

I tuned in to what they were saying once more.

"So, I live as Eva Lisbon, relocate to Ohio whilst my son joins the avengers?" Aunt May finally said.

"Basically, yeah." Tony said finally. The silence was still forbidding and hollow.

For a moment, I was scared that she would forbid me. And as my guardian, I have no doubt that Mr Stark would comply with her wishes. But she didn't understand that I couldn't stop. I have a duty, a responsibility to do what is right. If I hadn't done what I did last night, then those people would have got those weapons and who knows what would have happened then.

"Peter, I…" Aunt May took a deep breath, "Why do you do this?" I've thought about this before. On many a roof top waiting for the familiar sound of sirens that called me to attention. This answer came naturally to me. Just as it did when Mr Stark asked me just before we went to Berlin. I walked over to my Aunt, sat down beside her and looked at her in the eye.

"Remember when Uncle Ben died."

"How could I forget" Aunt May scoffed softly.

"I had just been in the convenience store. The man behind me in the queue, he had just stolen a load of money. And I did nothing. Deliberately did nothing because I had just had an argument with the shop owner." I paused for a moment, unwilling to face up to the truth that I had kept hidden from everyone all this time. But my aunt deserved to know the truth.

"It was him Aunt May. He was the one who shot him. I could have stopped him. I was new to my powers but I should have stopped him. If I did then maybe…" I trailed once more, becoming overwhelmed myself with emotion.

"He told me once that 'with great power comes great responsibility'. That's why I go out at night. That's why I fight the bad guys. I have that responsibility." I finished quietly.

Aunt May would hate me now. Uncle Ben was the one person who I couldn't save. The one person that meant the world to her. She would hate me because I never told her this, because I lied about who I was. In all honesty, she had good cause to. The truth was a lot worse than the lies. How could I ask her to uproot her life yet again for me? She never asked for me in the first place, just got landed with a whole load of trouble. She was too good for me, and would always be too good.

But her next word made everything alright again. It was acceptance. A short simple thing that meant the world to me. 3 words changed our lives. The next one, would make them live a little longer.

"Ok."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Thank you again to everyone who has read, followed, favourite and reviewed this story. It means a lot to me to hear that people are liking what I am doing.**

About midday, our plan was put into action. I'm not going to lie, it was hard saying goodbye to my aunt. Aunt May had always been there for me, even when no-one else was. I relied on her more than I probably should. Nights can be tough sometimes: coming home was always far easier because of her. Yet, here I was, having let go of that part of my life. In a way, Peter Parker would no longer exist soon. I couldn't hide the other side of me any longer. So I had to say goodbye to her, to the women I loved as though she were my own mother.

Then before I could even fully comprehend what was happening, I was bundled into Mr Stark's car, and was driving through the gates of the new Avengers Compound. I gazed out of the window nervously, ignoring Mr Stark who had been talking excessively the whole car journey in which I only made half-hearted replies. I think he was trying to distract me from everything. Perhaps he knew I was feeling a little lost. It didn't help much in all honestly, but I appreciated the effort.

Outside, once past the military style gates, I could see the building itself. It was composed of two main buildings, connected together, and on the roof a huge letter 'A' could be seen: a warning of who exactly lived there. Mr Stark had really outdone himself with this one.

The car swiftly pulled up outside the main entrance

"Come on kid." Mr Stark said as he got out and confidently walked into the compound. I followed him, hesitantly, unsure whether I could ever really belong in such an environment. Mr Stark certainly could. He seemed to know exactly where to go, and strode it as though he owned the place, which I guess he did. He led me through room after room, past the reception desk and a huge corridor, into an elevator to goodness knows what floor.

This place was massive. Who was I kidding? I could never live in such a place. I was just a boy. A boy with albeit, amazing powers. But I was no avenger. This was beyond me in so many ways, and yet here I was, expected to live here as though it were my own apartment.

Suddenly, a voice knocked me out of my train of thought.

"Tony." It was Steve. The Steve Rogers. AKA Captain America, walking up to us.

"Steve." Mr Stark replied curtly, "Have you signed it yet?" he asked, oblivious to my confusion.

"Yeah. It's all done."

"Took you long enough though. Did you really read every single page?" Mr Stark said, amused.

"Well, it was a very important legal document. You have to be careful of these things."

"It was like, 100 pages." Tony countered. "Still, I'm glad we are back on the same side." He then admitted grudgingly.

The separation of the avengers took its toll on both of them. Neither wanted to fight like they did. They were polar opposites, guided by their beliefs and for a moment, it seemed like they had got over their hurdles. Respect was there. It had been there ever since the Battle of New York. Friendship, however, was another matter entirely. Their relationship could be best described as though they were brothers. They fell out over nothing, and yet, I think they both knew that the moment something bad happened to the other, they would be there. Of course, like brothers, they could argue more than their fair share too.

"Who's this?" Steve asked eventually, acknowledging me for the first time. He seemed confused at my sudden appearance.

"Peter. Peter Parker." I said quietly, surprised though I was at being addressed to directly. Sure, Spiderman had fought the Captain before, but I had never seen him as me. He didn't recognise me from before; that was clearly apparent.

"Nice to meet you Mr Parker. I'm Steve Rogers." He replied courteously and still a little slowly.

"Excuse me," he said suddenly. Then, he grabbed Mr Stark's arm and pulled him away from me. "Yeah, but Tony, what is he doing here?"

"I invited him." Mr Stark said pulling away from the small privacy that the Captain had created.

"Yeah but…" the Captain trailed off slowly. Then, as if remembering his place, he replied a little louder.

"Of course Tony. It's your building after all." It seemed to me as though the Captain knew that despite their recent agreement, they still had a long way to go to build the bridge between them. He knew they had to keep civil, and causing an argument about nothing was not the right way to go about it.

"If you won't say it I will." Another voice came up behind the three of us making me jerk around in surprise. It was a woman who was exiting the elevator aside the one we had just evacuated. I recognised her immediately as Natasha Romanoff though she, having only ever seen Spiderman beneath his mask, clearly had no idea of my identity.

"What the hell is a kid doing on the base?" she asked angrily.

"I said I invited him." Mr Stark repeated once more. It was as though he was testing his authority. No one was quite sure as of yet how these new accords would play out for the avengers. Before, Captain America was always in charge of missions. He was the leader, and Mr Stark was the brains and the money. Now, though the divide was healing, there was no doubt that it was not yet closed.

"Tony. This is the Avengers base. It's dangerous for any civilian to be on site, let alone a 12 year old kid." She argued back, willing to take Rogers place where he was not.

"14." Tony replied, clearly hearing my unsaid annoyance at the age she suggested. 12 was a bit rich. I've always look young, I'll give her that, but 12? Really?

"Almost 15 actually." I said, willing to put my bit into that argument.

"He's still a kid Tony." She reminded him.

"I can look after myself." I stood up for myself at last. Hadn't that been what the whole thing with the vulture was about. How even Mr Stark didn't think I could do anything. Hadn't I got over that particular hurdle already? It seemed everyone wanted to underestimate me. So I was younger than most in this business. Who cares, so long as the job gets done.

Natasha Romanoff looked at me directly in the eye for a moment, as if weighing me up for a moment. Then she replied.

"How so?" She sounded sarcastic. When I met her as Spiderman, though we didn't talk much, she was kinder even laughed at one of my jokes on the way back to the hotel. She had respect then. I didn't understand how this superhero business worked with her. How she could be so cold now, even though I knew she could be a lot friendlier if she desired.

For a moment, I fumbled around trying to find some sort excuse to tell her. She waiting for an answer. She and the Captain both were, and I think Tony was just interested as to whether I'd tell them the truth.

"I…err" I stammered. Then it came to me – I didn't need to lie anymore. The time when I could split Spiderman and Peter Parker as two separate beings was coming to an end. Soon, they would know the truth anyway. A few hours earlier was not going to make any difference whatsoever.

"I'm Spiderman." I said eventually, admitting it to someone for the second time today.

This morning, a grand total of 2 people, Mr Stark and my friend Ned, knew my identity. Now, it had risen to 5. Soon, the whole world will know. I wonder if they will underestimate me then?


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Thank you for all your comments, follows and favourites! I hope you enjoy the chapter. We will see a few more avengers in the next one, plus Spiderman will start going out at night again soon and then the main plot will really start!**

"You're Spiderman? Man, I knew you were young but…" Captain America started to say, trailing off, deep in thought.

"Yeah, he is." Tony replied bluntly, "So if you don't mind, a little less of the anti. What happened to don't judge a book by its cover? That's an ancient saying isn't it?"

"Sorry," Steve admitted grudgingly. He had always been too quick to judge and it seemed today was no exception, "Call me Steve," he allowed me at last. That's right, the Captain America let me call him by his first name.

"What did you want me for anyway?" Mr Stark asked eventually, not liking the awkward situation we were in. Ms Romanoff hadn't said a word for a while. It wasn't even clear what she thought of the new revelation, or maybe she just didn't want to admit that she was wrong.

Outside it started to rain. It was easy to see through the huge glass window aside of the corridor. The sky turned a little greyer than usual, casting a thick shadow on the world beneath it. Though we were inside, it was clear that we were still in slightly cold territory. Steve looked at Mr Stark, his face still showing traces of confusion and annoyance.

"Just about the accords." He said, "A word?" he added, glancing at me as he did so. I looked away from his gaze shyly.

Did I ever tell you that I had super advanced hearing? Because I do, and let me tell you, Steve pulling Mr Stark away to talk to him privately did absolutely nothing to avoid me hearing what they were saying. I glanced at Natasha, amused.

"Are they always like this?"

"Yep." She said without hesitating to think. "Drives the rest of us mad." Her face will still blank, as she cast a sideways look at me. Steve was asking Mr Stark about me, again. Something about what happened last night and whether I was ok. For a moment, I felt like speaking up and answering for myself. I may be young, that has already been made perfectly clear, but I'm no idiot. I do have a mind of my own. My aching joints had been getting better all day. Sure they weren't 100% yet, but whose would be after a fight like that. Even the cuts I had achieved were healing nicely. Perks of having super healing as a power.

Mr Stark jerked his head around suddenly, looking at me with a funny expression that I for one had no idea what meant. His eyes seemed dark and hollow, and his face, looked a little grave. Then, he turned back to Steve, and nodded. I didn't catch what was said next, if anything was said at all. All I knew was the next minute, I was being ushered away from him and Ms Romanoff by Mr Stark.

I don't know where he was leading me exactly. He didn't say much. We seemed to walk for an age, so far that I wondered how big this base was exactly. Then, we stopped outside a door which Mr Stark opened with a finger scanner.

"After you kid." He said quietly, a trace of nerves in his voice.

"Where are we?" I asked curiously,

"Your room." He said, opening the door as he did so.

Inside, it was immediately clear that this room was made exclusively for Spiderman. The walls were painted bright the exact same shade of red whilst spider styled red sheets covered the beds. There was a small sitting area and bathroom attached. In the corner, a large state-of-the-art Stark computer screen stood. It was nothing like the one he had at home.

"I asked for it to be designed especially. Err," he walked over into the room. "There are a few spider suits in the wardrobe along with other stuff. Laundry in the basket and it will be collected." I wandered over to the computer, with which he continued, "I know you liked the retro stuff in your old room. You can change it if you want. You can change anything you like." He trailed off slowly.

I turned around, hardly believing what I was seeing. Was the great Mr Stark nervous about what I thought? This must have taken a lot of work, that much was clear. Not to mention more money than I had in my bank account.

"It's perfect" I said happily. I couldn't help but notice the small things rather than the big. The fact that the Stark computer was one that wasn't going to be released for a few months- that was one that definitely caught my eye. The Spiderman bed sheets that I remembered looking for online a few weeks ago, only to find that they had sold out.  
"You didn't get this ready in a day." I stated, a question clearly hidden in the statement. Those sheets came from China, and the computer had to have been custom made.  
"You've been ready for this for a while kid. I just didn't want you to be." He admitted quietly. Despite his swagger and all the confidence he possesses, I couldn't help but wonder just how much kept to himself. It seemed that everything he said outside, was just a front for the inside. An area that was locked up from the public and that I think he would like to keep hidden from everyone. He turned away sharply, and headed to the door.

"Get some sleep kid." He said but before he left the room, I called out to him

"Thank you Mr Stark." I meant it a lot too.

"It's Tony. Haven't I told you that before?" he mumbled as he disappeared out from view where no one could see him.

I sat on the bed quietly, taking in my surroundings and deep in thought. My father had died before I knew him, and though my Uncle Ben did his best, he was gone now too. Mr Stark, no Tony, did this for me. He created and designed this room, just like he had made my suit. Then, the sudden realisation came to me, he cared. That's why he said the things he did after the boat almost went into the water. Perhaps he cared too much? Maybe that was his flaw.

The next moment he was back, his head poking around the door,

"Oh, and Vision is next door. He doesn't usually respect the value of doors, so don't be surprised if…" he seemed to think about it for a moment, "You know what, just don't

be surprised." Then he left as swiftly as he arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Once again I am blown away by the reaction to this story, and I greatly appreciate all who are taking the time to read it. This chapter was interesting to write, and it contains one of my favourite characters. Next chapter will be more light hearted and we will hopefully see more of the classic Spiderman comments.**

I think I must have fallen asleep pretty soon after. I was fairly wiped out still after the big fight from the vulture, and after the day I had, I can't say I was too surprised. In any case, when I woke, it was night time.

It took me a short time to work out where I was. Then it came to me. The vulture, the picture, Mr Stark helping me out. In fact, I thought as I glanced over and picked up my phone that was lying aside the bed, it was now 2am. That meant that more than 24 hours had passed since that fight. Which meant, that it had happened. With a growing sense of dread, I turned onto the news app.

There it was, headline news where no one could miss is. 'Breaking News, Spiderman identity revealed: Peter Parker.' There could be no doubt. I entered into the document hesitantly and began to read. It took a few minutes before I realised what I was doing: I was looking at the words but not understanding any of it. Maybe I didn't really want to know. Regardless, I scrolled back to the top and looked anyway.

Then, I felt anger. They knew everything. They knew where I went to school, my Aunt and where she worked. They had even found out what happened to my uncle. There was a growing sense of injustice at this. Peter was a nobody, now everyone knew everything about me. There was nothing in my life anymore that was a secret. I might as well have blurted out my entire life story to the whole wide world. I never asked for that, so why did they think it was right to tell everyone?

I felt trapped. Despite being all alone in a silent building, I felt as though I were being watched by everyone, and I couldn't escape. After everything I had done for New York, did I really deserve this? The room felt hot and suffocating and I knew I couldn't stay here. I had to get away, at least for a while. I had to be Spiderman instead of Peter.

And yet I couldn't. The Avengers base was in uptown New York, which was miles away from Queens. It was already 2am, so by the time I got there, I would only have to come straight back. Agitatedly, I got out of bed, and opened the window.

"Are you ok, Mr Parker?" A voice called and though it was soft, I still couldn't help but jump. It seemed like Friday was installed everywhere Tony went.

"Fine," I muttered as I climbed out of the window and up the side of the wall onto the roof.

Outside, the air was slightly cold to the extent that most would feel uncomfortable, but I could only think about how good it felt. How when the wind blew through me, pulling me gently, it seemed to take away my problems; how it glided effortlessly, light and free in its dance across the sky. Just how I used to me swinging across the city as Spiderman. Would I ever feel that same freedom again, now that people knew me?

I sat down and rested a while, glancing up at the stars lazily and taking in their beauty.

"Someone stole my spot."

"Err," I stammered, looking over to see who was coming towards me. It was a man with sandy coloured hair and bright blue eyes. Despite it still being the middle of the night, he looked wide awake and alert. I recognised him from Germany, and before that, from watching him after the Battle of New York on TV.

"You're Clint?" I asked

"Yep." He said as he sat down beside me. He didn't say anything immediately, preferring the silence. "I heard what happened last night." He stated.

"Who hasn't?" I asked sarcastically.

"Right now, pretty much everyone has." He was honest then. That was a new one: most people avoid topics like that. It was refreshing.

"So I have a question." Clint stated, "How do you stick to walls? I mean, I have to get quite high up sometimes, I'm an archer. Fallen off a few times too so if it's something I can learn that would be good." I thought about my answer for a moment,

"You can't learn it. Part of my DNA." I replied honestly.

"Damn. Stupid super powered people." He joked.

"You're not powered?" I asked surprise. I had thought all the avengers had powers: Steve had the serum, Bruce Banner literally turned green and Thor was a god. Even Tony had his suit which pretty much made him untouchable too.

"Nope, even Nat has been enhanced a bit when she was younger." Clint admitted. Then, he turned off his joking mood, and sudden turned a little more serious. "Powers don't make you invincible you know."

"Sorry?" I asked, surprised at this sudden change. Clint fiddled with the hem of his T-Shirt before replying.

"I heard you before, with the others. I was in the air vents. Don't ask" he added when I opened my mouth to question him, "They think you are a kid and can't handle anything. It makes you feel weaker than them. But don't worry about that. Use everything you are feeling to make sure you end up stronger than anyone else." He stopped his spiel abruptly, leaving only silence once more.

His words made sense though. I think I did feel weak when they kept mentioning my age. I did what I did last night to prove myself to Tony.

"How'd you know all that?" I asked, a few minutes later. Clint looked at me, a little exasperated.

"Your face is an open book kid, and I'm a spy."

"Why though? You come out here dead of night just to talk. You don't even know me." I questioned his judgement. Clint was quiet for a little while longer. I thought for a moment that perhaps he hadn't heard me, but eventually he replied.

"Because we've all been through what you're going through. Plus I have kids. I can tell these things. You owe me babysitting duties for this by the way." He added as he got up and left me outside, alone.

I let this sunk in for a moment. The great Hawkeye had kids? How did no one know about that? It was huge. Then, I realised something else. The public didn't ever know everything. They didn't control my life, and I wouldn't let them.

I continued watching the night sky outside, and though the darkness meant there wasn't much to see, I found peace in the quiet solitude of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Thanks for comments. I'm not too far away from over 100 followers which is incredible for me. Please keep comments, follows and reviews coming as that would make my day! Enjoy the chapter.**

"Okay Peter." Tony started to say. It was the next morning, and after a cold night, the sun was shining yet for another day running of heat. I woke up feeling a lot better today after my talk with Clint. Today was a new day, and I couldn't worry about what people thought. I could only show them my worth. Like now for example, I had got up at a reasonable time and was eating breakfast with Tony, Steve and Natasha. I had even been introduced to Vision this morning when I left my room. I was just getting on with my situation in the best way I could.

"I'm sure you've read the news by now. Pepper has arranged a press conference. Nothing to worry about." Tony said casually. Hang on a minute. A press conference definitely sounded something to worry about.

"Sorry," I said, "A press conference? With people, like, asking questions?" I stammered nervously.

"Well, yeah." he replied, not seeing anything wrong with this, "Stops the rumours. Trust me, it's better this way." He picked up a mug of coffee from the counter where Steve had just placed it. I must have looked a bit alarmed, for Natasha, who had downed her drink quickly, put her hand on my shoulder and said in a drawl.

"Relax, the reporters are easy to wind up. It'll be fun." She smiled, almost sinisterly in a way that definitely told me that she was one who I was not to cross. I made a mental note of this.

"Right." I said unsurely, "When is this?" I asked, straightening my NASA T-Shirt and the rubbing the back of my neck. Tony didn't reply directly, instead he asked Friday.

"In about 2 minutes Mr Parker." Friday replied mechanically. I was so surprised that the orange juice glass that had been halfway to my mouth froze and sloshed over the side. Tony was clearly surprised too for he looked at me with his eyes wide. Then, he jumped to his feet quickly.

"Come on kid," he just about had time to shout as he left the room meaning that I had to hurry after him in order to catch up.

* * *

"Where have you been?" An angry voice shouted, indicating that they had arrived. The woman seemed a little flustered, a clipboard seemingly attached to her arm and a frown upon her face.

"Forgot the time Pepper." Tony replied apologetically. Then, he grabbed her hand and pulled her close, kissing her immediately. This must be his famous CEO and long-time girlfriend then. Tony mentioned her on the phone once when he wanted me to ask Aunt May whether she thought red roses or white ones were better and didn't know of anyone else who would know. I got a lot of stick from my Aunt for that when she misunderstood my question by the way. Pepper blushed as they pulled away, however she shook her head fondly. Clearly despite Tony's best efforts, not all was forgiven between them. Then, she all but pushed the two of us into the room aside of her. I glanced over my shoulder enviously, both surprised and grateful to find most of the other avengers following us inside.

Then, all of a sudden what seemed like a million flashes all at once burst upon me. Cameras everywhere erupted into action, making my spider senses go into overdrive. I hadn't realised my feet had stopped moving, until Tony grasped hold on my shoulder and led me to my seat. Then, as quickly as they arrived, the flashes stopped and dictaphones were thrust forwards anxious.

"Right then." Pepper stepped out infront of all the avengers and addressed the eagerly awaiting press. "This is a formal press conference. You will ask questions politely please without shouting out. We set the rules and if you go over these rules, your organisation will not be inviting to another conference." She threatened, smiling falsely at everyone.

Looking over her shoulder and seeing that we were all seating, she gestured to receive the first question. I sat nervously, wondering what they would say and feeling thoroughly unprepared for this. Tony sat to my right, completely at ease in such an environment. I guess there were some perks to growing up in the limelight after all. Steve was on my left. He seemed more at home than me, but despite his outward smile, even I could see that he was on edge. I fidgeted my hands nervously where no one could see them, my heart racing with nerves.

"Peter. How do you feel now that your identity has been revealed?" the first question came flying at me. I still have no idea who was talking, or even where in the room they came from. I hesitated for a moment, so long that Tony felt the need to elbow me beneath the table, prompting me into action.

"Err. It is what it is." I said eventually, "I didn't ask for it but I'll deal with it anyhow." Short and to the point, probably not exactly what the reporter wanted, but it was all I could think of on the spot, and it was an answer that would do the job. The next few questions came thick and fast and I could barely keep up with them, but like I said, I'll deal with it.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" One young female reporter asked eagerly. The nerve of her. She had a low cut top and was flashing her eyelashes infuriatingly. I am the first one to admit that I can be clueless when it comes to women – it took me long enough with Liz after all. However, even I knew that she was asking for it this time.

"What's your name?" I asked her, immediately regretting it. She fluttered her eyelashes once more and told me in a sickly sweet voice that it was Naomi.

"No Naomi," I replied, thinking quickly, "And if I did, it wouldn't be you." I smiled, for once proud of my comeback that normally I never did. I must be braver than I thought to reply like that. Further down the row, I could hear Clint was sniggering and doing his best not to full out laugh.

The next question was thankfully a little more serious, and one that I didn't have to answer.

"A question for the rest of the avengers, what do you think of Peter joining the team?" Steve replied first, looking at me before he did so.

"If I'm honest we don't really know each other yet. But I'm interested and from what I've seen, he's going to do well." I looked at him curiously and saw no lie in his words. It was a far cry from his accusation yesterday though, so I didn't feel completely at ease with him yet, but it helped.

I was getting used to this. Sure, it was terrifying and I hated being on display like this. I also had to constantly fight the urge to change into my spider suit in order to use my mask. But I was getting used to the flashes, to the infuriating reporters and their stupid questions that half the time I didn't really understand but had to answer anyway.

"What about the accords?" One reporter asked; she had cropped hair and a sly smile that immediately put me on edge. "The accords ban the use of the Avengers involvement in any scenario apart from officially sanctioned missions. So what right does Spiderman have to go and fight the vulture as you did?" There was a malice in her voice that surprised me. Before I could answer, Tony interrupted.

"If you recall, Spiderman has only ever worked in the US. The accords are international regulation, not national." He said, his head cocked to one side as he did so.

"You took him to Berlin though. He hadn't signed when he went over there." The reporter fired back, unwilling to give in to her story.

"That was under exceptional circumstances." Tony retorted, and expert though he were, I could see even he was getting a little uncomfortable. Steve shifted in his seat aside me, making me realise this situation was not going the right way right now.

"But he has signed the accords now hasn't he?" The reporter tried again, smiling as she realised she was gaining grounds. I hardly noticed this however. There was a hollow ache in my stomach that seemed to grow ominously. The truth: I hadn't yet signed the accords.

At first, it was because I'd have to sign as Peter Parker. The documents would be made public so my identity being a secret would pretty much have been ruined even earlier that it was. I didn't have that excuse now. My 6th sense was pretty much going into overdrive at this point. This whole event was going from bad to worse.

"He will be signing the accords at the first available opportunity." Tony replied after some thought, involuntarily given them the ammunition they wanted. He looked over to Pepper, and I could see that there was some sort of silent conversation between them in that once glance. It was the kind of thing that only happens after years of knowing someone.

"This press conference is over." Pepper announced knowingly. Instantly, I got to my feet, and though I didn't run out of the room, I made sure I was out at the first available opportunity.

"Sorry kid. Didn't mean to feed you to sharks like that." Tony said as soon as we were out of earshot. "It'll go over."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I do not own the avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Over 100 follows. Thank you all, it means a lot to me.**

 **I would also like to thank roseofalltrades and SinghSong for the idea of seeing what Midtown High thinks. I didn't want Peter to actually go into school as it doesn't really follow the story line I am hoping to achieve, but I was able to adapt it to create a great idea for a filler chapter. I hope you like it.**

I'm bored. There, I said it, bored. Sure, being an avenger was great. Clint was funny, Steve was more serious but a good laugh if you get him in the right mood. Even Wanda was becoming some sort of really annoying older sister, though I didn't see much of her and Vision since they went off on themselves often.

No, I was glad to be an avenger. It's just that avengers, despite their name, didn't exactly do much. They only went out when they really needed to, and most days was just waiting around for something to happen. I couldn't even go to school anymore: people would recognise me in a heartbeat and I couldn't put them at risk by going. The only thing I could do, was be Spiderman.

I was going out more than I probably should, during the day more often than night. It was becoming almost more like a job now. But ever since the vulture, normal criminals didn't seem so much of a challenge. Perhaps I was getting complacent, but I just felt I needed more.

Take today for example, it was a couple of weeks after the press conference and true to Tony's words, the public had calmed down. The news kept playing some famous celebrity that I for one had never heard of if I'm honest, who had split with her partner. Major news I'm sure. In any case, I was glad that I was now able to go out as Spiderman again. I was resting on the roof of the bank, when Karen, my in-suit AI, called me to attention. A robbery on 39th. Instantly, I got to my feet and jumped off the roof, using my webs to swing to my destination.

It didn't take me long to spot the commotion. Since I started going out at night what seemed like ages ago, criminals started to operate at more unusual times. Daylight robbery was much more common as I could never stop them due to school. Now, things were about to change.

The things that came to the forefront of my view immediately was the women, hysterical though she was, chasing someone frantically down the street. I focused in a little further up the road to see two men, rushing away, dressed in common day wear: one with a brown leather jacket and the other with a blue jumper. I swung after them swiftly, noticing that the former was clutching a handbag in his fist.

Swiftly, I struck a web towards it and yanked it sharply, hoping that it would come lose and that I could return. Needless to say it did, but what I wasn't expecting was that the man would have such a harsh grasp on it and that he would fall backwards too. Still, it made my job a lot easier. With the handbag now in my hand, I was able to use my other to quickly web him to the ground.

"One down, One to go," I shouted cheekily to the onlookers who had gathered, interested in the events. Then, I chased down the other, and with a quick web across his path, he too was down and out. They were clearly amateurs, easy to deal with. Then, I was on my way, not even out of breath.

"Anything else Karen?" I asked hopefully.

"Nothing on my radar." Karen replied mechanically. Back to waiting it was then.

* * *

I went back to swinging through the streets, not really paying attention to where I was going. It became monotonous. Release web, web becomes taut, swing, release hand on first web and shoot out the next. Then you repeat again and again. I could feel my muscles aching with the effort, but I pushed through it regardless.

It took me a while to realise where we were headed, but when I noticed the route, I was surprised. We were back in Queens, not a block away from Midtown High. I hastily jumped higher onto the roof tops, unwilling to be seen so close to school. It was strange looking at it. The bold brick buildings used to be the bane of my life. The place I never wanted to go but knew I always had to. Now I'd left, I kind of wanted to go inside, but this time I was barred from entry. I wanted to see my friends. At this time of day, Ned would be in physics, probably with a new partner now I'd left and chances are, hating it. Liz would be in English (Yes I know she's a senior and I probably shouldn't know her timetable).

I waited on the roof top for my next call. Ned would be pleased I think, he was delighted to find out I was Spiderman to begin with and was always wanting to tell people my secret. Michelle would probably think it was cool too and I have no doubt Flash would be jealous. Liz would probably take it worse. It was her dad I was fighting after all, but she was strong and I didn't blame her in the slightest.

"Anything Karen, Anything," I tried again as the time got on, unwilling to turn back to the Avengers base just yet. The reply once more was negative. I got up to my feet disappointed in the days results. However, just as I was about to leave my perch, something caught my eye. I leaned over to view the pavement in surprise. It was Ned and Michelle, talking to each other as they walked home.

"Karen, surveillance mode please." I asked instantly as a drone flew off so I could hear their conversation. Okay, it was a bit nosy I'll admit, but curiosity got the better of me not to mention the withdrawal symptoms I was having due to not seeing them. A few seconds later, I could hear their conversation.

"When does Liz leave?" Ned asked Michelle. Michelle gave Ned an exasperated look as she replied.

"Same time as when you asked yesterday jerk. 9 am tomorrow." She replied.

"I'll miss her. I didn't really know her but…"

"You spent enough time looking at her." Michelle interrupted him, before replying a little softer, "She didn't want to be around during the trial, and you know that." Of course, the trial. Tony informed me last week that her dad was to be put to the jury soon. There would be a lot of press so I didn't blame her for wanting to get away.

"I wonder if Peter knows." Ned asked, still enthusiastic. I leaned in, surprised as being mentioned.

"We can't tell Peter. He has to stay away. That's what that Happy bloke said." Even she felt a little down at this fact. It took a lot of effort not to swing down and talk to them directly. The two of them were quiet for a moment, a calm silence that was not uncomfortable between them.

"Peter's cool though. I mean, I know a superhero personally. How many people can say that?" Ned said, stumbling over a raised crack in the path as he did so.

"Yeah, he's cool." Michelle said immediately. I got to my feet, and crept along the roof tops in order to follow them, careful all the time not to be seen. They didn't talk of anything interesting after that. Some homework assignment that was apparently impossible and one that from the sounds of it, I was lucky not to have to do.

I wanted to join them. All that time I waited to be an avenger, I didn't realise that the time I had then was precious too. That carefree innocence was something I now yearned for. Times had changed that was for sure. I felt a drop of rain land on my face, making me look up surprised- it was supposed to be dry all day.

"You have an incoming call from Mr Stark." Karen interrupted my train of thought.

"Put him through." I said, still following my friends.

"Hey kid. Swing by the base. We're on." I didn't understand his lingo. For all his brains, he seemed to enjoy speaking in riddles sometimes and it annoyed me.

"What?" I asked, distracted,

"We have a mission. Get on it." He said, hanging up as he did so. A mission. A real mission was coming at last. I looked longingly at my friends one last time, before turning away to swing back to base. We had waited for ages, now we were going to get some real action. I was ready for it.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Thank you readers for all your support. I meant to say a few chapters ago that I do not know New York at all, nor Germany which I mention in this chapter. As such, any locations or local terminology are either from my imagination or from other stories I had read or watched. If I have made any mistakes, please forgive me.**

 **I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I'm not the best at writing chapters where not much is going on really, so I hope I have done this to a good enough standard.**

"What we got?" I asked before my feet has fully touched the ground upon arrival at the base.

Steve was waiting for me on the roof of the building. He was standing tall with a posture that you could tell was from back in his army days, and he wore his suit and shield ready to go.

"Briefing on the jet." Steve replied, beckoning me to follow him as he took off in a light jog.

Having only been living on base for a while, I still had no idea where he was heading, so I followed him diligently. After a time, he then stopped so abruptly that I almost ran into him. That would have been embarrassing.

"You are doing that on purpose Stark." He said, not angrily but with a twinge of annoyance in his voice.

A moment later, the air that appeared empty in front of me began to shimmer slightly and distort. I blinked, and by the time I opened my eyes once more, a jet appeared before me.

"How?" I stammered, confused for jets don't appear out of nowhere.

"It's just cloaking." Steve answered for me as he stepped on board where the other avengers were waiting.

"You have an invisible plane?" I couldn't help but ask incredulously. "They have an invisible plane." I repeated a little quieter, as I stepped inside too and sat down a seat.

Steve too took his seat opposite me, and glanced back with a knowing look. Then there was a soft hum that gradually got louder, and before I knew it, we were in the air. Vertical take-off too – Tony was definitely keeping some things hidden from me even still. The nerd inside of me began to geek out as I thought of all the reasons and ways that this plane could run. It would cost millions, and in all honesty, I couldn't even contemplate the solution.

Once fully in the air and the noise had died down a little to a steady drone, people began to move once more. Tony and Clint were in the pilot and co-pilots seat respectively, though Natasha and Steve had decided to check out what weapons were available to them. Wanda and Vision began talking to one another in hushed voices. I just sat there, unsure of what exactly I was supposed to be doing. I didn't need any weapons bar my web shooters, and I doubt I was be welcomed into their conversation with open arms, nor would I want to. My knee began to bob up and down nervously as I got out my phone.

There was no signal, with the technology this plane had shown I half expected full bars. I opened up a game and began to play hesitantly. It felt weird just to be doing something so normal when we were about to do something so abnormal. I didn't even know where we were going, but I didn't feel I could ask just yet. Steve said he would tell me.

A little while later, I was bored yet again. Looking at my watch, we had already been flying for a couple of hours, but without any clue of where we were headed, I didn't know how long we had still to go. I got up gingerly, my legs stiff after being sat down for so long, and scurried over to Tony who was still on the stick.

"How long?"

"About another hour." Tony replied, "Why, regretting you came?" he smiled cheekily turning back to view out the window.

I looked out. At first, all I could see was at awe. There we were flying through above clouds at such a high velocity that it was just a solid blur. The sun was so bright, we were so far up. I've never been on a plane before -we didn't own that much money. Even when I went to Germany, I never really looked out the window. It was exhilarating. Then, I felt sick. How could I enjoy this view, with the knowledge that my parents died in a plane crash?

With that thought, more and more bad things came to mind. We were miles up from the air, and would fall a long way if things went wrong. This plane held so much technology, did that mean that it was less likely to fail, or were there just more things to fail? I couldn't fly like Tony and Vision could, if we fell, I would die.

I then felt very nervous, my foot began to twitch up and down, and when I sat back down and I could no longer settle. Why did I look outside? Why did I see how high up we were? I was alright before, but now I felt like I would threw up, my face was pale and pasty.

"You alright son." Steve said, seeing my change

"Fine," I mumbled, not looking up.

A few minutes passed without anyone saying anymore. Then, Natasha looked up from the book she was now reading, cocked her head to one side and spoke up too.

"You know there is like a one in 10 million odd chance of a plane crashing." She tried to reassure me. I had heard that one before, many times in fact. For some low odds, I seemed to have the worst luck.

"I'm fine, I just shouldn't have looked out the window." I said, looking into my lap silently.

"Is it time for the brief?" Vision said suddenly. Steve gave me one last sideways look, before he heaved a sigh.

"Sure, Hill me the details before we left." Tony and Clint, hearing this conversation, flicked on a few switches on the controls, presumably for autopilot, and headed over with Tony taking the spare seat beside me.

"What you got for us Cap?" Clint asked, intrigued.

"Intelligence gathering. Hill reckons the base we are heading to in being used in less than legal circumstances. The plan is simple: four of us will enter in teams of two, they find out what they can as quickly as possible whilst the rest of us act as outside surveillance in case of a problem."

"They wouldn't have allowed us to do this mission unless it was more than that Cap. The accords guarantee that." Wanda said, a question clear in her statement.

"They think that the people in charge here are dangerous. I think they suspect that a problem probably will happen. And it's isolated, no civilians to get hurt. The accords allow us to do this." Steve reassured, thinking about his words carefully.

"We need stealth in the mission so we leave our biggest guns outside." Steve said, looking at Tony in case he disagreed. Tony nodded in agreement. Though he usually liked to get into all the action, rash though he may be, he was still a genius. The need to remain inconspicuous was paramount

"Nat and Clint take the east entrance. I know you'd prefer surveillance Clint, but you're a spy and the rest of us are not. Wanda and Peter will take the west. The rest of us will scatter outside. Thor, Sam and Rhodey send their apologies for not being here. And Bruce, stay in jet, normal procedure." He finished looking at Bruce.

There seemed to be a switch in Steve: one minute he was a leader and was telling people their jobs, the next he appeared almost shy and was ducking away out of view. It was a strange conundrum: shyness and leadership didn't seem as though they ought to work together at all.

"Cool." Tony replied stepping back into the pilot seat.

"Here's your communication device." Natasha handed me a small earpiece and then proceeded to demonstrate how to use it.

"Thanks," I said, grateful for her help. I was glad of the briefing in more ways than one: firstly, I now knew what I was doing so that was one question out of the way; secondly, I could now worry about my part in the mission as well as flying. Fantastic.

In any case, it didn't seem that long after until we touched down, apparently, a few miles off of the base in Southern Germany. Though it would have been early evening in New York, the time difference meant that here, it was nearer to midnight. We had landed in the middle of a forest, and there was a little bit of a trek to get to the base but our approach wouldn't be spotted this far out this way. That very walk was done in silence: it was so dark that you couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you anyway and even with my enhanced eyesight, it became challenge to avoid the branches and roots that laid strewn across the floor. I followed Steve's lead, hopeful that he at least knew where he was going as I for one certainly did not.

Then eventually, we saw a light in the distance.

"Spread out. Let us know when you are in position." Steve said in a hushed tone.

"Come on." Wanda gestured to me. "This way."

This was it. My first mission as an avenger had started. Peter felt extremely nervous at this situation: this was my chance to prove myself and the mission seemed pretty simple, only I had never done anything even remotely like this before. But the Spiderman side of me knew that I just had to take a deep breath and get on with the job. I couldn't live as Peter now, I had to do this as Spiderman.

"Ready to enter when you are." Wanda whispered beside me to the other avengers.

.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Hi,.I had several comments about the spacing in my story. I think it is a side effect from just copying it over from word, but I have gone back through and tried to correct it. I hope this is better and thanks for the advice, I appreciate all comments of any sort.**

 **I hope you enjoy this next chapter too.**

Have you ever felt like your entire life has been building to one moment? Maybe it's getting a job, or marriage or something equally scary. For me, it felt as though it was now. This moment here, waiting for the announcement that I would enter into a mission as an avenger. It wasn't the moment I thought it would be when I was a kid. I thought I was going to have a normal life, a normal school, and job, nothing special. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed this is what my job was going to be. And though I felt woefully unprepared, I was ready.

I stared up at the building anxiously. It seemed to be just a single tall building with only a few windows and lit by several security lights. Surrounding it was a tall 5ft palisade fence that was supposed to appear ominous, but I knew it could hardly keep us out.

"Right we are all in position. The four of you should enter now." Steve voice echoed through my ear at a volume that appeared far too loud from the cold silence that Wanda and I had created.

"Let's go." Wanda whispered to me as we crept out from our area of secrecy and approached the fence. Instantly, I shot a web up so that it grasped hold of the top. Then, I stepped back a few paces.

"Need a lift?" I asked Wanda curiously,

"Please." Wanda said, the she walked out to me and jumped onto my back in a piggy back.

"Hold on tight." I said, as I started to run. Then, when my Spidey sense said to, I took a jump. The leap carried us up high and we sailed over the fence effortless, sticking the landing perfectly. That was one to be proud of.

We made our way into the building through a high window which Wanda was able to use her powers to somehow open. With my better eyesight, I led Wanda through the cold and dimly lit building.

"Wanda, Peter head up to the 11th floor. Find a Nathan Baites' office. Look in there." Steve's voice came through once more.

"Understood." I replied, my voice steady despite my heart that was pumping furiously in my chest.

We followed Steve's command grateful for a place to start. There was a slight grumble on the stairs from Wanda, something about picking the highest floor, but there were no problems as such. It was when we reached the top that something happened.

Up until now, our progress into the building had been more or less unhindered: being night here, the place was mostly deserted. That changed now. The man was in full tactical gear, a bullet proof vest upon his chest and two sidearms strapped on his waist. He appeared to be roaming the corridor, perhaps a guard then? We came across him just as we opened the door into the corridor from the stairs. I shouldn't have been surprised at his appearance, we were after all breaking into a base, but the lack of contact prior to this had lulled me into a false sense of illusion. I jerked back suddenly, pulling Wanda with me and hoping we hadn't been spotted. It would make it far easier if he hadn't.

"Who's there." The man had a gruff voice. So much for not being spotted then. We waited a second longer, though that same second seemed to drag out until it felt like many more. I could feel Wanda next to me, her breathing heavy with nerves. We weren't spies: Natasha and Clint were so why were we, the two youngest members of the team, assigned to work together?

No, I had to keep my cool. This could just be another criminal on the streets. Some of them had guns, so this wasn't really any difference. I looked to Wanda, who looked scared but there was a calm determination about her that seemed to come out of nowhere. 'Ready' I mouthed at her, there was a gentle nod in reply. Then, we stepped into the line of fire.

First things first, we couldn't let him call out to back-up, or our operation would be compromised. Therefore, a quick web to the mouth was in order. It stuck perfectly, and despite looking pretty stupid, it did the job: this man could no longer speak out.

"You were saying?" I said in typical Spiderman style. Then Wanda used her powers to all but throw the man to the wall, which instantaneously I webbed him to, rendering him useless. I grabbed his gun too, unwilling to leave anything to chance.

"Peter, Friday's showing me heat signatures, there is someone else on floor 11." Tony said in the earpiece just as we had finished.

"No really?" I asked, exasperated. A minute before and that information would have been vital, now it seemed pretty useless. Wanda looked at me in annoyance, the comment really wasn't necessary.

"We've detained the man, how do we proceed?" she said, clearly the more mature out of the two of us.

"Just leave him there, with any luck we will be out before anyone notices." Steve's reply came hesitantly. It seemed a little foreboding to leave a man in full view in the middle of an operation, but there was nowhere secure that we could really leave him in at the moment. We walked along a corridor looking for Mr Baites. Every small sound we made appeared to echo a million times around us, every breath felt like a risk, one that would call people upon us. We were in enemy territory right now, and the man we had just found only told us that we had to vigilant at all times.

"Here." Wanda said, guiding me towards the right office. She opened to door to a small gap, peered her head around the door to check there was no-one in there, and then proceeded to enter.

I don't know what I was expecting inside to be honest. Steve signalled this room out in particular to search through, so I think I thought I'd find a something a little more than I did: a plain normal office. There was a standard size desk in the middle, some exotic plant in the corner that was probably only put there to fill up some space, one of those comfy chairs that turned around (I always wanted one of those, by Aunt May would never let me buy one saying they were a waste of money). The only thing that could be seen as unusual, was the empty desk.

Most people have piles of paper, hundreds of pens and mug lines scattered across their desk – this one was just empty. I rushed over to it and yanked open the drawers, but they were bare too. In fact, there was nothing in the room to suggest that it was currently in use.

"There's nothing here." I said in my comms device.

"There's got to be. It is supposed to be a major base." Vision replied from his outside viewing point, "Records show that hundreds of people work here"

"The office is empty. Looks like it has been cleared out." Wanda backed me up, for which I was grateful.

"That's not right." Steve murmured, "Nat, Clint?"

"Copy, nothing in the basement either but there were documents in some of the minor offices we passed en route." Clint confirmed, a slight lilt of confusion in his voice.

"So they've already got rid of any evidence of importance. That was a waste of time then." Tony summed up, perhaps already preparing to leave. I looked at Wanda and we headed to the door. I was slightly disappointed to tell the truth. For my first mission, I was kind of expecting something more than this. I shouldn't like it when things get tough, but when they don't it just seems monotonous.

"Wait," Natasha said when we reached the stairs. There was silence on the other end of the line, only filled by heavy breathing from all corners. Then, she burst out an expletive in alarm.

"This place is rigged to blow." She all but shouted. There was no point in being quiet anymore.

"Get out, now." Steve barked the order into his comms. Well, I wanted more action and I was about to get my wish.

"Friday says less than a minute." Tony informed us, anxiety was clear in his voice. Wanda dragged me over to the nearest window – she was right, there was no time to go out the normal route. But we were 11 floors up. There was a long way to the ground and neither of us could fly. At least Clint and Natasha were nearer to ground level.

"Do you trust me?" I asked Wanda

"I don't even know you." Wanda whispered honesty. Fear was clearly in the forefront of her mind. I know that because I felt it too. But there was no time to dwell on it. I grabbed her forcefully, and jumped out of the window.

The air rushed through me, cold compared to the heat of the moment. As we fell, my stomach seemed to drop faster than my body. I knew what I had to do, I twisted around in the air, ignoring whatever fears I felt. The web I then shot flew up into the air, and attached itself even further above us. It went taut, and I held both it and Wanda for dear life. I could hear her screaming quietly beside me. Whether she trusted me before, she certainly wouldn't after this stunt, even if it worked. Then, we swung, sailing through the air like I had done so many times before. As we came closer to the building, I stuck my legs out to protect us both as we slammed into the wall, just off ground level. We had made it.

"You idiot." Wanda said, her heart racing.

"Sorry." I said as I grabbed her hand and ran. We weren't a moment too soon.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Couple of questions have come up in reviews which I keep forgetting to answer, so here goes. Firstly, I don't plan for Peter to actually speak to Ned just yet. There is a good chance that he might come up much later in the story, but at the moment, I think there needs to be a divide between Peter's old life and his new one with the Avengers. Also, I am not currently planning to pair Peter with anyone. There were suggestions of him and Wanda, however as I imagine Wanda to be about 23, and Peter to be almost 15, in that format, I don't think it would really work. Thank you for your questions and all comments of any sort.**

First, there was the sound. The loud echoing booming noise that sounded like a million bursts of thunder all at once. Then, there was light. Escaping from the darkness behind us, it lit up the sky instantly. The once heavy cover of the night became as bright as day. We were flying. It wasn't the simple controlled swinging through the air like I was used to: it was rough, heavy and ungraceful. Wanda's hand became wrenched away from mine as we slammed into the ground hard, rolling over a few times before coming to an abrupt halt. The debris rained down on us –glass shattered and bricks flew.

For a moment, I laid on the grass, the wind completely knocked out from me. So much for a simple mission. If my heart was racing before, it certainly was now. The building was in flames. Huge plumes burst out from it, radiating heat in all directions. After such a terrible noise, the silence that followed seemed even more noticeable than before, I couldn't hear anything.

"Report." I suddenly became aware that Steve had been barking out into the comms device probably for some time now. I must have tuned him out before. I looked over at Wanda before making my assessment. I could wriggle my toes, and though I'm sure that after the adrenaline wore off, this would hurt like mad, I would be ok. Wanda seemed a little out of it too, but even in her dazed unconscious state, I was sure that she would be ok in time.

"We're fine." I gasped out eventually, to which I distantly remember hearing a sigh of relief in reply "Natasha and Clint?" I asked hopefully.

"Both are ok." Vision reassured me. Right, that was good. What's next?

"Peter," Steve called once more, "Tony's on his way. He will get you out of there." I laid down on the grass a moment more. Then, I shakily pulled myself up to my knees, and then to my feet. I was a little unsteady at first, and seemed to wander more than I would like over the ground on my way to reach Wanda. I crouched down beside her, glancing round to see if Tony was here yet.

"Wanda?" I asked softly, shaking her a little in an attempt to rouse her. There was no reply

"Kid." The sound of thrusters and Tony's casual nickname for me indicated that Iron Man had arrived. He looked at Wanda once, letting Friday make his own assessment. I don't know what the results were, but behind the mask I didn't seen any major concerns from him.

"I'm going to take her back to the others. I'll come back for you after." He said without his usual gusto. Then he was gone again, and I was alone with only the wreckage behind for company.

I don't know much about adrenaline, only what I have experienced. At first, it seems great, the rush of excitement that can save your life and make you do the impossible. When it goes however, it leaves behind a lot of baggage. I felt tired, the day's activities finally catching up on me. Then, I felt the cuts and bruises that our escapade had given me. There was a large gash across my face leaving blood dripping down. I felt heavy, and the ache in my side told me that the next morning was going to show one hell of a bruise there.

I should be glad. We had just been in the middle of a major explosion and we had come out with nothing life threatening. We would have died for sure if we had staying in the buildings, or if we took the stairs rather than jumping out, so we should count our blessings. All in all, it wasn't a successful mission by any stretch of the imagination, but we were all ok and that was the main thing.

But instead to gathering intelligence, we seemed to have discovered more questions than answers: Why was the building empty for starters? It appeared as though whoever used the place, knew we were coming, but how? The questions seemed to go in one ear and out the other. Nothing made sense about any of this, but I couldn't concentrate on that now.

I closed my eyes tiredly, feeling the weight of the mission. Despite Tony telling me to wait, I just wanted to get out of here. I stumbled over to the boundary fence, wondering if I could summon enough energy to get myself over it this time. Yet what seemed so small and easy before had turned into a huge challenge. Tony told me to wait, and I trusted him enough to know that he would come back.

Anxiously, I glanced around the area one last time to see if I could spot him. It didn't seem to take so long walking when we arrived than it was taking now for Tony to fly here, I thought vaguely. He must be coming soon.

But in amongst my jumbled thoughts, I saw something that was even more unusual than everything else that had happened. In the corner of my eye, I could see a man. His face was hidden from view and he was hurrying away from the building as fast as he could. That's all I knew of him. Ignoring my body's protests, I hurried forwards towards him. But try though I might to catch up, by the time I reached where I saw him, there was no man in sight – he was gone.

"Ready kid." Tony's voice came up from behind me.

"I saw someone," I said immediately. It was important that Tony knew that. The man could have been anyone. In all our findings, we had forgotten something so important. The building was never fully deserted. There was that man running away, and there was a guard. A guard who somewhere in the roaring fire was webbed up and trapped. Unable to escape the inevitability of his future. That was my fault.

"There's no one there." Tony said concerned. He must have asked Friday for details. "We have to go Peter."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Sorry that I haven't updated for a few days, I had no free time to write this weekend, but I should be able to update more this week. As always I love all your comments. This chapter is a bit of a filler, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.**

I woke up, feeling sore but a lot better than I had done previously. The side of my body where I had landed had changed from a burning pain to a dull ache, and if I reached up, I felt sure that the gash upon my face would have closed by now. Spider healing was definitely a benefit with such things- it's amazing what difference a few hours could make.

Then, I noticed where I was – in my bed at the Avenger's base. The problem was that I don't really remember how I got here. I remember going back to the jet where I saw Wanda being attended to by Vision and Bruce. Steve was keeping an eye on Natasha and Clint, but bar a few scratches, there wasn't much to do. Everyone seemed pretty busy. Certainly no-one was talking about what had happened just yet – it was too soon. Exhausted, I remember collapsing into one of the jet's seats. The others didn't need me right now as they were busy. We got out of the area as soon as we could - Tony piloted the plane on his own on the way back. Knowing him, I felt sure that we must have been flying faster than normal. In any case, I think I fell asleep soon after.

Someone must have brought me here once we had arrived. It was a strange feeling. On one hand, I couldn't help but think that only little kids get carried to bed. I wasn't a little kid, and this would only make them think of me as one. I should be annoyed. But on the other side, I hadn't been carried for such a long time. Sure my father used to carry me, but for some reason, my Aunt and Uncle never did. It felt almost like family, like I belonged. A strange feeling.

As much as I would have liked to have stayed in bed, I knew I had to get up. Bleary eyed, I got dressed and stumbled out of the room. The other avengers were waiting in the living room and when I entered, they stopped what they were doing and looked up.

"Hey Peter." Wanda said. I looked over to her, but despite her unconsciousness last night, though a little tired, she seemed fine. Everyone was. The mission didn't go to plan, but we all got through it.

"Debrief." Steve then announced formally.

"Yeah, kind of why we were all waiting here." Tony said sarcastically to Steve's obvious comment.

"They'd cleared out the base. Something used to be there." Natasha told us what we all knew.

"They hadn't cleared out everything. There was the guard where we were, and later I saw a man running away." I said shyly.

"Friday checked that out. There was no-one there kid." Tony interrupted me. His authority overruled mine, and for a moment I felt anger. Tony dismissed me just like that, and now he said that no one would believe me. I know what I saw. I don't know why Tony didn't see the man, but he was there.

"There's still the guard though. Why guard nothing?" Steve continued as if I had said nothing.

"Why bomb nothing?" Clint repeated Steve's phrase, "We must have missed something." He got up out of his seat and wondered over to the window, gazing out in thought. There was a pause in the conversation for a moment whilst people took everything in. Then, the mechanical voice that over the time I had spent here, I had become quite used to.

"Sir, the reports you requested have come in." Friday said. Instantly, Tony got to his feet.

"What have you got for us?" he said. I was a little confused at this, and judging by everyone else's faces, I wasn't the only one. It seemed the norm that Tony kept a lot to himself apparently.

"Building measures…" Friday began to say, before Tony cut her off

"No, skip all that. Anything that is not standard?" It seemed like Friday had a huge spiel of random unimportant things that she was going to say. I was thankful that Tony had stopped her. It doesn't matter how big the building was after all.

"Of course Sir." Friday corrected herself. Perhaps it was my imagination, but she seemed a little disgruntled. "Readings suggest that the atmosphere of the base is largely normal, though there are building quantities of gamma radiation, concentrated in the basement." Gamma radiation. That was something odd, and judging by the way Bruce was shifting in his seat, it was not something the team were exactly comfortable with.

"Gamma radiation." Bruce repeated incredulously.

"Super soldiers." Steve muttered. I was good at science, I'll admit that. But you don't really learn a whole lot of about gamma radiation in school- at least not in my grade. I can vaguely remember reading about it as extra-credit though, only because I was that nerd that did things like that.

"Gamma radiation is the only well-known source of super soldiers right?" I asked, assuming that was property they were talking about.

"Yeah." Tony said, "Mind you, it's not the only source available, and there are more uses to gamma radiation than just super soldiers. It doesn't tell us much"

"It would make sense of why the accords allowed us to carry out this mission though. What better way to fight super strength than with super strength?" Vision pointed out. If this whole talk was supposed to sort things out, it wasn't helping. There were just too many unknowns to solve the equation just yet. All we were doing was guessing, and that wasn't good enough.

"We need to talk to United Nations." Steve said finally. "We need answers." He was right. The UN knew more than they were telling us. How could we fight a battle without the variables? It was impossible – entering the base with no real intel was foolish and it could have got the four of us killed. We were just playing with fire.

The team dispersed quickly after that – there wasn't much more to gain from talking. Tony and Bruce were heading down to the labs, and I think the others were going to do some sort of training. Then, there was just me. Just as there had been ever since I had arrived at the base. Tony once said in a PR meeting that the living with the avengers was like having a family. Truth be told, I couldn't really see that family just yet. Sure, someone had carried me when I fell asleep but they weren't acting like a family when I was awake in any case.

Tony and Steve were determined to avoid each other at all costs, they were walking on eggshells waiting for the other to crack. Bruce just stayed in the lab all day, and Natasha had a permanent frown on her face at this, meaning she stayed with Clint constantly. The avengers weren't a family right now, they were just co-existing and coming together only for missions. As for me, I don't really know where I fitted in, but I was certainly on my own.

It made me long for my Aunt May. Back at the apartment, we used to have a lot of fun. Movie nights were the best – every Friday night a different film, pizza and a whole bunch of other treats that would be off the chart in terms of how good for you they were. I don't think I really appreciated the effort she went to everything. My whole life, I yearned for my mum and dad, and along the way, I forgot the family I had been given instead: the family that I had lost yet again.

"They'll come round." Wanda said. I hadn't realised that she hadn't left yet.

Sorry?" I asked, not quite with it.

"The man you saw." She clarified. "They've done it to me before too- shrugged you off because you're the youngest and their high tech don't see what you do. They come round eventually. I believe you." Then she looked over at the door to see Vision patiently waiting for her. "Things do come round to make a full circle Peter." She finished cryptically as she left the room. I didn't know what she meant if I'm honest. There was too much going on right now: facts that don't add up; a team divided and lost in a world that doesn't make sense. I guess that's what being an avenger is all about.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **Another chapter for you. I'm not going to be able to update for a couple of weeks or so after this, so I've made this one extra long to make up! I love all your reviews, and I can't quite believe that I have almost reached 200 followers - only 5 more to go! This story has got the best response out of any that I have written, and it really inspires me so thank you.**

 **There is a short mention here of something that has come up in the press very recently. It was said that Spiderman was the little boy that was in Iron Man 2. I for one like this idea, so I have included a mention. Hope you enjoy this**

This was it. The flames were coming closer and there was no way to escape their inevitable grasp. I was trapped – captured by the very webs I created. I wanted to run, but I couldn't move. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't speak. And it was coming ever closer. I knew that the explosion was on its way. I knew that the flames would engulf me, so I couldn't breathe.

Then, I woke up. Sweat dripping of me and breathing heavily, I sat bolt upright in bed, trying to get my bearings. Have you ever been in a dream, and whilst you were dreaming it you had no idea that it wasn't actually real life instead? That's what it felt like for me. It felt like I was there, waiting for death trapped as I was. Of course, it wasn't just a dream. It was real: at least for the guard I left in the base last mission. What must he have felt like, waiting for his inevitable death?

It was my fault in a way. If I hadn't trapped him there, then he could have escaped. I was responsible for his death. That's what one side of my brain was telling me – the side that had just woken up from a nightmare of a dream. The rational side was telling me that he was a bad guy, and that was just the consequence of being a bad guy. Not so easy to remind yourself of that sometimes though.

Still, put the bad things behind you – that's how I've always coped when being Spiderman. You have to think on your feet, and dwelling on the people you couldn't save won't help those still alive. Simple, just like that - I wish. In any case, I've always found that the best way to deal with such things, is to get on and save more people.

"Mr Parker." Friday started to speak, but I cut her off

"Not right now Friday." I butted in before she could finish.

So that's why I've come out to do my patrol again so early in the day. Forgetting about breakfast (I'll grab something on the way), I found myself swinging through the familiar route back to my neighbourhood. If I was lucky, I could take down a few criminals before they had even really woken up.

"Karen?" I grumbled upon arrival.

"Shoplifting on 6th." Karen replied automatically, not needing to wait for clarification. She was clever like that. Nice, simple and to the point which was exactly what I liked. Just like that, I was on my way to 6th.

The problem was in a supermarket according to Karen. Of course, the problem is, I couldn't just walk in. If Spiderman walked in, the civilians would just crowd around so quickly that it would be easy for the shoplifters to get away with anything if they moved quickly enough. Then the stupid press would get involved and I'd be there all day. No chance of that happening.

No, such problems needed to be dealt with covertly. Normally in such cases, it was night time and the people weren't around to distract me anyway, and when it happened in the day, I always used to crawl on the ceiling. Risky I know, and not exactly comfortable but so long as no one looked up, which for some reason no one ever does, I could get to the problem undiscovered. But it was such a pain to go so slowly, and I hated covert ops.

Unless I didn't go covert. Spiderman was so conspicuous, but Peter Parker wasn't. Sure people knew my name now, so when I did start fighting there would be no problem. Normal clothes would mean that if I covered my face a little, hopefully no one would recognise me until I did spider things. It was the perfect plan.

So that is how I found myself walking in normal civilian clothes, hoodie up and face down, past the aisle. I kept flicking my head from left to right to see what I could find.

"Karen. Any help?" I mumbled, grateful that Karen was no longer restricted to the suit. I had already installed her into a handheld device personally – I did say I was clever didn't I? Besides it wasn't too hard, just a copy of the data.

"Aisle 3, two men, one with a beard." She replied automatically.

"Shh," I whispered in reply. She was far too loud. No one could look up and notice me or it would put the whole plan in jeopardy. I found the problem fairly quickly. For shoplifters, they weren't exactly being the quietest they could be. One had a bag wide open, was glancing around without hiding particularly whilst the other was stuffing wine bottles into said bag. Pretty much as straight forward a theft as it gets.

Pulling up my hood unnecessarily, I strolled forwards towards them. Let's do this. Not having a suit on had its drawbacks, I had no web shooters on me (something I'd have to work on I think), but I was still Spiderman underneath. Like Tony said, the suit doesn't make you Spiderman. I used my super strength to grab one man by the back of his shirt, whilst simultaneously swinging my leg out to knock the other of his feet.

"Hey." The man said as he crumpled to the ground.

"You shouldn't be stealing things then. Not cool man." I excused myself, struggling to keep the first bloke from moving. It was at this moment that I really envied my webs – a perfect non-lethal way to restrain someone. I could only try to restrain these men the best I could and then stay with them until the police arrived.

But though these men were far from professional, Spiderman or not, they weren't going to go down without a fight. Whilst holding one bloke, the other would keep trying to get up, so I would keep tripping him up in return. When he got wise to this, he kept just out my reach. I shoved the one I was holding onto the floor, so I could jump to the other and knock him other. It wasn't hard to do, but bouncing from one to the other wasn't exactly my idea of a successful fight. It was repetitive and it was boring.

"Come on guys, why you falling over all the time. Are you drunk or something? Well you are stealing wine so one has to think that way…" I joked, trying to pass the time. I was cocky, a crowd had gathered by now, and in hindsight I think I was trying to please them far too much. It wasn't a major mistake, just a pause long enough to get a punch right in the face. My super healing would sort it out and in less than 5 minutes, I wouldn't even feel a sting.

It just wasn't like me. Sure, in big professional fights it's likely that they would get a hit or two in, but these weak simple criminals should be a piece of cake. It just wasn't right. I ignored it, and just continued with my work. The police arrived soon enough and I was able to get rid of these guys at least.

Next up was a robber- easily put away, and then I found a little girl just around the corner at about midday.

"Are you ok kid?" I asked softly, I was back in my suit and kneeling down to her level in order to show that I was no threat.

"I can't find my mummy." She wept, tears flooding down her face. I offered my hand gently, and then asked if she wanted a piggy back, reassuring her that I would help her find her mum. She was only 5, and my heart went out to her.

When I was about 10, I lost Aunt May once. She had been in hysterics – we were only at the biggest Stark expo ever. The noise and the people were bustling around, jeering so noisily and making me so scared. I had already lost my parents once and I didn't want to lose anyone else. Not to mention there was that huge problem with Hammer industries before I found her, and then everyone was panicking. What I'm trying to say is that I understood.

Once she was settled on my back, I used a web to catapult us to the roof. Then, making sure I was holding on to her tightly so she wouldn't fall, we gazed over. There was much better view up here, so it didn't take long until I spotted someone frantically searching the streets. A few minutes later and the little girl and her mum had been reunited – problem solved.

"Mr Parker." Karen called out

"I've told you before, its Peter." I berated her good-heartedly – how could an AI get it wrong so often?

"Understood, Mr Stark has just sent forward the report from the meeting with the Accords Committee."

"What meeting?" I said immediately. I hadn't been informed of any meeting, had I?

"The one that Friday was trying to tell you about before you cut her off earlier." Karen replied. She sounded a little frustrated at this.

"Have you been gossiping?" I asked Karen cheekily, "Can AI's even talk to one another? Is that even allowed?"

"If you had listened to us, you would know that the committee did know about the supersoldier program."

"So that is what the gamma is being used for." I reasoned.

"Yes," Karen said, a little frustrated, "That is obvious. There was more than one base though."

"So it's a network. How many were there?" I asked, confused.

"The committee are not sure. They know of at least 4 more." This was annoying me. How could the committee not tell us all of this? This was vital information that they were keeping from us for no apparent reason. I could see what Steve Rogers meant now: the accords are stupid and the people behind them are even more stupid.

"So what next?" I asked Karen, unwilling to know if there was any more that they were keeping from us.

"There is a new mission. Mr Stark will inform you of the time of departure soon. The avengers will break into another of the base." Risky – the people who were running them, whoever they were, must surely be expecting more problems after what happened to the first base. Still, it made sense. The only way we could stop these people would be to halt whatever plan they might have before it started, and that meant hitting them at home.

This time I was ready – there would be no explosions, no sudden evacuation to end our mission early. This time, we would find out exactly what was going on. Supersoldiers were dangerous if found in the wrong hands, and as the avengers, we couldn't let that happen.

I went back to base right away after that. I needed to read the report myself, not let Karen read it for me, especially with how irritated she sounded at the moment. As I swung back as fast as I could, I made a mental note to myself not to ignore AIs again, no matter which one it came from: both Friday and Karen had far too much power for my liking and computer or not, I was kind of scared of them.

I arrived at the base just as the avengers were leaving.

"What's going on? I thought you were sending me the departure time." I said as I landed. Steve looked around guiltily for a moment.

"Sorry kid." He said, "Not my orders." I didn't understand. Did I just not get the right memo? But the avengers were already set to leave. A few minutes later and they would already have left, probably without me.

"Mine." A voice came from behind. He was wearing a suit that probably cost far above his pay grade, and he was walking around as though he owned the place. No, it was not Tony Stark for once. In fact, I didn't even know his name.

"General Cross," he said by way of introduction. "You're not coming on this mission." There was no room for argument by the way he said this, but argue was something I was definitely going to do.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're a kid, not an avenger. This is for the grownups to handle." He said patronisingly, his beard wobbling as he did so. "You just go back to your little petty thefts like a good boy." As far as first impressions go, his was as bad as it got. Good boy? – did he think I was 3? I was an avenger: I had been to Germany, twice now. I had even saved Wanda.

"You don't have any control over that." I argue, unwilling to sound petulant, but at the same time wanting to make my case heard.

"Actually kid he does." Tony said, placing his hand consolingly on my shoulder.

"Who are you anyway?" I retorted

"General Adrian Cross, Head of the Worldwide Committee for the Protection of the Earth by the Avengers. In other[NM1] words, your boss." I didn't even know we had a boss, so to say this was a surprise was an understatement. But like I said, I wasn't a kid – I know what a boss means. It means I had to do exactly what he said, and to argue would only reinforce his case.

These government blokes must have some screwed up sense of fairness. Take Captain Rogers for example: how many times has he saved earth and as soon as he does something they don't like, in other words not signing the accords, they attempt to lock him up. Bruce I know was hunted across the world in a manhunt, and Tony is their best friend one minute, and their enemy the next. I'm not the best avenger here, not by a long way, but I've done my bit: I've helped reduce crime by two thirds since I started being Spiderman and I've always done what the law has asked me to. There was no reason at all why I shouldn't be allowed on this mission Arguing with General Cross would get me nowhere though.

"At least let me fly with them. I'll stay on the jet." I pleaded, hoping he didn't know how much I hated flying. I wouldn't stay on the jet of course, but he didn't have to know that.

"I think that is not…" he started to say, but Steve cut him off,

"A good idea, but a great one." He finished. "Come on Peter, since you are just a child, we can show you the ropes so you can gain experience," he said in a sickly appeasing tone, trying to play up to General Cross. I wasn't going to argue – it was working. I scrambled onto the jet as quickly as I possibly could and Tony got us into the air, the noise blocking off anything that Cross was trying to say. I smiled gratefully at Steve. I don't know what General Cross' problem was, I had only just met him, but he couldn't stop me on this mission. I was on my way.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I do not own the Avengers or Spiderman.**

 **Hi guys. I'm back to uploading hopefully fairly regularly now. I didn't have access to any internet for the last few weeks but I have it now. Thanks for all you support for this story. It means a lot to me.**

"Who the hell was that man?" I blurted out as soon as we were in the air and on autopilot. The air around me felt hot and sticky as the other avengers looked at one another nervously. I was well used to this feeling – the one where all the adults look at you as a child, and where you ask a question and they don't really want to tell you the truth so they are trying to think of what to say. I hate that feeling, but I seem to be getting it more and more recently.

"General Cross, like he said." Natasha replied first, "When this lot signed the accords, one of the changes was that alongside the committee, there would be a representative who could make decisions fast on their behalf." She indicated to those who had sided with Steve in Germany. "By the time the committee had finished arguing with one another, it would be too late to act so one man was elected instead."

"Mind you, General Cross would have been my last choice for this role." Steve admitted grudgingly to which there were nods and small noises of agreement all around.

"I don't like him." I mumbled as I settled down for what I am now sure was going to be a long plane ride.

"None of us do kid. He's like, I don't know, a really annoying itch or something." Tony tried his classic snarky comment.

The plane ride was the same as ever, I hated that too. I hate the feeling of helplessness in the air. There was miles of just air below and the only thing holding us up was an engine. It seemed just way too risky, and though I've checked the science so many times and my mind understood, my heart just didn't want to admit that the jet was actually pretty safe. The others had never really talked to me about it anymore, but even I wasn't blind to the look that Clint was giving me out of the corner of his eye. Not that they were supposed to talk to me about it, or that I expected it – they didn't need to worry about me.

Towards the end of the journey, the autopilot went back on and the briefing occurred. The mission was pretty much a mirror image of the one before. Gather whatever intel we could find, and then destroy the base to stop the programme continuing.

"Natasha and Clint are one team, Wanda and I will make up the other. The rest on lookout just as before." Steve finished a little less confidently than before. I could see him eying me up, to see what I would say.

I wasn't blind- it wasn't just as before. Even I could see that the teams were identical to the last mission, except that I was not going in. I felt like blurting out 'What,' and to demand an explanation. I even felt like demanding that I went in as the kid they clearly thought I was would have done. I didn't. I didn't say anything.

Did they not think I was good enough? I thought I had already proved to them that I was ready. I saved Wanda last time out, it wasn't my fault that there was no info to be found there. Or was it something else? Was it just General Cross? The man that I already didn't like went down in my books even further. He wasn't the boss of me, or anyone else no matter what he thought, he shouldn't have that sort of control over us. I didn't say anything, though I wanted to. I think my face probably said it all – an open book my Aunt always used to say. She would have known that I was good enough for more than this.

We landed a few minutes later, and whilst the four went into the building, the rest of us were on watch duty. To add salt to the wound, I was given a spot to wait at the furthest possible point away from the compound. I was pretty much completely out of it, and couldn't see anything. This whole exercise was a waste of time for me. I might have well have stayed at home. Even the apologetic glance Steve left me with didn't help.

"I'm going against Cross by letting you even out of the jet, this is the most I can let you do." He said softly as the others went on. I was right then – this was all stupid Cross' fault. I wasn't worthless to the team, if they could only let me prove it. I wished I could talk to Ned – he had always believed in me and it would be great to air my grievances with someone. But he wasn't here. I wasn't allowed to talk to him or anyone else I knew.

So I waited, once again for something to happen. This time the base was hidden very much in plain sight. It was in the middle of a normal town in Florida. There was nothing remarkable about the building, nothing at all that would even make you want to cast more than a fleeting glance at it. Standing with a few other blocks in the middle of a roundabout, cars would zoom past in all directions, more concerned about where they were heading (hopefully) than what was around them. I was standing a little way down one of the exits, the cars deafening my enhanced hearing.

Irritated, I crept forward a little. I wasn't allowed to draw attention to myself, particularly now I was a public figure, so I wasn't wearing my spider suit - just normal jeans and a hoodie that I kept pulled over my head. I wandered along, looking at the people rushing past in an attempt to spot anything suspicious. There was nothing.

"We are going in." I vaguely heard Clint's voice echo on the comms device. He sounded calm and ready, despite how the last time he went in ended. Steve also reported his similar status. Frustrated, I kicked out the comms unit away from my ear before I glanced around the area, knowing that I would find nothing. Then, I looked up at the base that I could just about see some of now. Funny how I had walked closer involuntarily. I could just about see some windows right by the top. Maybe even the ones below that it I tried really hard.

"Sorry man," A bloke brushed my shoulder as he barged past in a hurry. I glanced back in surprise, normally my senses would have allowed me to avoid such an impact, but not today it seems. I looked at the man in question, he wore glasses, and had a scruff of brown hair that laid flat upon his head. He was also glancing around suspiciously around him, distracted by something.

In hindsight, the best course of action would probably have been to tell Steve and the others what I saw. The reality was that I didn't even think of that and instead, decided it would be best to follow this guy. A man looking around like that was definitely suspicious. Besides, my job was a lookout wasn't it? I made sure I hung a few paces back, but my eye never left his back.

Then, eventually, he took one last look around before he opened the very building I was supposed to be watching's door and stepped inside. I hadn't realised I had got so close to the building. Perhaps I was just a reckless fool, or perhaps I was just used to working alone, but by now I definitely should have reported this. Instead, I followed him inside.

Inside was dimly lit. There was a short corridor with four doors inside which would lead to 4 open rooms. All full of activity. Unlike last time, this base was not deserted, and several times I had to jump into the shadows in order to avoid being seen. My spider sense was working overtime, and it was only due to my enhanced eyesight and hearing that meant I was able to keep track of that man.

He led me on what felt like a wild goose chase through this maze of a building, up and down stairs. Apparently paranoid, he looked around so suddenly that I had to jerk back in order to avoid being seen. Then he entered a room, presumable a lab by the small glimpse that I saw as the door swung shut. I waited hidden, my heart a steady rate despite the risky situation. The others were in the building somewhere too, but hopefully they wouldn't spot me. Hopefully, I could come up with the goods that would show even General Cross that I was not just a kid.

I waited for what seemed like an age, but was in reality probably only about 5 minutes. The door opened and the man walked out swiftly. He wasn't so suspicious this time, but seemed to be striding off full of confidence. Whatever he was worried about, it was in that door. I had to time this perfectly.

Just as the door was about to close, and just as the man was out of sight, I jumped out and stuck my foot out, stopping the door from the automatic lock. Then, I pocked my head through the door to check the coast was clear and entered. It was a lab, a very high tech lab. My science nerd brain began to burst with excitement – was that one of those electron microscopes? Probably cost a fortune. I hurried over to the table and grabbed the first pieces of paper I could find.

I wish I could say that I understood what was on it. It would be really clever of me if I could, but even I only saw a jumble of symbols and nonsense. Regardless, it was important.

"Karen, you there?" I asked the non-suit version of my AI,

"Peter, you shouldn't be here." She replied smugly.

"Shut up Karen," I blurted out softly, "Take scans of these papers and save them for later." I ordered. There must be something on them that was valuable. Tony and Bruce might be able to make some sense of it. And if not, then no-one would know any difference.

"Complete." I dropped those papers instantly, and grabbed the next ones I could find in order to repeat the process. I was getting things here, useful things with a bit of luck. Mr Stark would be pleased and so would Cap and the others.

Then alarms sounded.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Thank you to all my readers for your support. I say this every chapter but as an aspiring writer, it really does give me a lot of confidence and inspiration to hear that people are liking this story. I've been looking forward to writing the next chapter for a long time so I'm sure it won't be too long before I update again.**

A loud piercing noise interrupted my thoughts. Dread dawned on me as I jerked around guiltily – what had I done now? This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to leave here easily and bring about my findings causing a surprise, not this.

I let the papers I was holding fall lazily to the ground and I stared at the door ominously. Who had sounded the alarm? More to the point, how long was it going to be before I had company? I had to get out of here. Pronto.

I rushed to the door anxiously, opening it a crack to view into the corridor behind. No such luck. People were running past all over the place as they responded to the alarm. Some were apparently being evacuated due to their scared faces and the complete difference in attitude between them and those who were apparently escorting them – they had straight, unconcerned faces instead. Regardless, whoever they were, if I went outside the room now I would be spotted instantly. There was no exit there.

"Karen?" I asked knowing that my AI would know what I needed.

"Calculating possible exit routes." She informed me. Easy, all she had to do was pick the best path out and no-one would know I was here. After all, these alarms might not be for me. They might be for Natasha or Steve or someone else, and they can all look after themselves. I wasn't the only one who wasn't supposed to be in the building. They might just leave me alone.

"Secondary exit far right corner." Karen sounded after what seemed like an age. I darted off in the aforementioned direction. It took a little while to get there, this lab seemed like a maze in itself – the deeper you venture, the bigger the room seemed to become. Finally I reached the far wall where I turned to the right, my eyes fixated to where hopefully I could find a door.

"Secondary exit…" Karen began to say, but before she could finish she was abruptly cut off,

"Right here." I looked forward unwillingly. Unwillingly because although the exit had now been found, and though I would soon be out of here, I knew it wouldn't be as soon as I'd like. The truth being that despite my hopes to be left alone, it wasn't me who said those words. It was the man in the lab coat, the man who had led me here, and he was standing right in front of the exit door.

Gone was his nervous disposition, he know looked entirely confident, expectant even. Gone too were my hopes that this wasn't my fault. Clearly it was, clearly this man had found me out.

"Problem with secondary exits, is that they are also secondary entrances." The lab man explained casually. His demeanour was almost entirely relaxed: it was a far cry to the usual confrontations that I normally deal with. Normally, I'm the one throwing the jokes and having fun whilst the bad guys are frightened. Did he not know who I was? I wasn't in Spiderman gear remember, I could just rub this off as just being an incredibly nosy guy.

"Sorry man, I was curious as to what you were doing. Didn't mean to snoop."

"Didn't mean to break into a high security lab without permission did you?" the lab man spoke almost indifferently, "I'm not stupid Spiderman." So much for that idea then.

Yet this was one solitary guy. I've taken on 10 men at once before, he shouldn't be a problem. It struck me that I was just wasting time. I should already be out the building by now and on my way back to Tony and the others. So why wasn't I? Perhaps it was his confidence, but something about this guy unnerved me and something else just wanted me to know more. One simple web would take this guy down, simple. That is, if I had my webs.

A noise from behind interrupted my thoughts. It didn't take me long to access the situation. I was in trouble. Men dressed in black started to burst through the first door and spread out through the room, every one of them holding a gun, pointed at me. The situation was just getting worse.

"I guessed you'd come here next you see. After your little stunt with the German base, it would only make sense that you would design an identical mission somewhere else. So completely identical that to my benefit I would know exactly how many were going in, and where those outside would be. You made my life easy for me Mr Parker." This man was patronising – I didn't like him.

I couldn't stay here. I had waited too long already and the odds had only got worse, not better. I had no webs, no suit, no back-up. I had what felt like hundreds on men with guns upon me from behind, an irritating man in front of me and one guy who was in a lot of trouble – me. I reacted suddenly and quickly.

Darting to the ground, I rammed into the lab man's legs and knocked him to the ground hard. He would have concussion for sure. Then, as the bullets started firing, I ran forward. The bullets were loud and echoed in the hollow room. Any one of them could hit me at any moment. My spider sense was going haywire, racing and setting my nerves on edge. But I didn't wait around for one of them to get a lucky hit. I was out of there. Climbing over the lab guy I rushed towards the door and slammed in shut behind me.

I was out of the lab. I was out of the fire, but I was still lost in the smoke. The armed men were still behind me, and my route was far from clear.

"Karen quick." I blurted out breathlessly, running through the corridors as fast as I could and following her directions. The building was apparently already evacuation for there were no hordes of people running past as there previously had been, only a few men had lingered.

Ok, so I said I had nothing, but at the end of the day, I was still me. I still had enhanced strength, hearing, sight and I also had Karen. All those things came in handy as I battled away with the enemy. I flipped around athletically past people, darted through gaps and changed direction wherever I could. I don't know how the bullets didn't hit me, they bounced through the air in every direction, but I moved so much that they couldn't seem to hit a decent shot. It was partly skill, but honestly, mostly luck that got be through the base and out the fire escape.

I jumped down outside noisily, forgoing the fire escape's steps in an attempt to get down to ground level faster. Outside, it had just begun to rain: a small drizzle that blew the air around me and made everything wet and slippery. The clouds had begun to hover above us as the cars outside washed off the water with their wipers. I darted out between two of them causing horns to blare noisily, but I didn't care about that at the moment. I was out of the firing line. The men were no longer following me now that I was out in the open, and that meant I was free. I was safe.

I ran back along the pavement towards my designated viewing point: the one which I was supposed to stay at the whole time. Relief washed over me as the rain dampened my fringe, plastering it against my face. Some strange part of me felt exhilarated, drawn by the rush, the danger and the excitement that was all part of the reason why I kept wanting to be Spiderman. The threat of death and injury that I had once faced had already faded into a distant memory and all I could remember was the rush.

Then suddenly all my adrenaline was swept under my feet and pulled away like a rug. I stopped dead, no longer in the clouds but now firmly rooted into the ground. Standing in the place I should have stayed at was Iron Man. And he didn't look happy.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: I do not own the avengers or Spiderman**

 **This was a much harder chapter to write than I was expecting so apologies for the delay. It was difficult to keep the Tony in particular in character here as nothing like this really happens in the films apart from one scene. I hope I have done him justice. Enjoy reading**

Silence. I'd have preferred shouting. At least if he was shouting I'd know where I stood. No – this was worse. I could see the disappointment written as plain as day across Tony's face. I felt hollow and empty, guilt flooding out of me in a rush. I shouldn't have done what I did: Tony made that quite clear.

He led me towards the jet and onto it where the others were already sitting waiting for me. Then he walked straight into the cockpit without taking a glance.

"Well done kid." Natasha said sarcastically as I sat down gingerly. I held my breath, wondering what they would say. Steve was refusing to look at me. His back was slumped and he looked drawn and tired. Clint was the opposite. He was looking at me strangely, then his eyes darted around the room quickly, perhaps gauging everyone else's reactions. Then he seemed to shrug and leant back in silence, just like everyone else. In other words, I was on my own with this one. I had done wrong, and sooner or later I was going to have to face up to what I'd done.

The plane journey home was the worst I had ever experienced. It was long and uncomfortable – the only noise was the hum of the engine. Plus Tony was making no effort to make this ride smooth and easy. He seemed to be more heavy handed than normal, jerked the plane around angrily in a way that made me feel sick. Of course he knew I didn't like planes, it was clear he was doing this deliberately in some sort of childish response.

By the time we had finally touched down home, I knew I was in deep trouble for this one. I was summoned without delay to the meeting room. The room was long and thin, a long table in the middle, multiple chairs around the outside and not much else - we only ever went here when things were really serious. Tony pushed me down into one of the chairs whilst he stalked off to the other side to glare at me.

This was bad, really bad. Tony was never that angry. He was after the ferry incident sure, but even then, that felt nothing like the vibes I was currently getting from him.

"What the hell were you playing at?" He questioned furiously.

"I, er" I stammered, trying to formulate the words I needed. But my mouth felt dry and they wouldn't come. "I saw an opportunity. There was a guy, guilty as anything and I thought if I followed him I could er…" Tony cut me off.

"So why didn't you report it?" He was blunt and to the point, "Your job was to guard that road, and you failed to do that." Every word was pronounced, cold and direct. He leant over the table, his normal casual demeanour gone.

"I didn't…"

"No, you couldn't report could you. Because you felt you didn't need these." He held up the comms device that I had taken out ages ago. He was wrong of course, I had just forgotten that I had them at all. The cold truth hit me suddenly, I was stupid. A fool.

"You felt you didn't need us. That you are better than us." Tony continued accusingly.

"No" I said immediately, "I just…forgot" Tony scoffed angrily. For the first time he sat down in the chair opposite, just looking at me cold and calculated. I slumped, my head down in shame. Tony had trusted me to be an avenger. He had faith in me when no-one else did – he introduced me to this mad world and protected me, stood up for me. This here was how I repaid him. He didn't deserve this.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly, meaning every word of it. Tony didn't reply for a while, just kept looking at me. "But I did find out…" I began to say. I wanted to tell him my findings. Perhaps as a way to justify myself. I had broken the rules and Tony's trust, but I wanted him to know that it wasn't in vain. There were things I found out that could be vital to the case, and maybe if he saw them he'd realise why I did what I did.

"I don't care." He said immediately. My resolve weakened but did not fail. I was in the dog house with all the avengers, but regardless, it was important they knew this.

"But I"

"No." he cut me off once again, not willing to let me get a word in at all, "I don't care what you found out. We do not need you Peter Parker. We can do this job without you." He was shouting now, his hand bashed down onto the table angrily causing it shudder. Then realising what noise he was making, he quietened down and said one final word.

"Go." Cold and to the point. I jumped out of my chair thankfully and all but ran to the door, surprised to find that Steve was blocking my way - he had been listening in. I looked at him, hoping to see something, anything at all in his face that would allow him even to understand my position. There was nothing. He just looked worn, as though all the fight had gone out of him. Here was Captain America, the man who could do no wrong and a world famous icon telling me that what I did today was unacceptable.

He let me past, walking into the room and towards Tony. I didn't care what they said: it wouldn't be to my favour and in any case, I just wanted to get out of there. I went to my room solemnly whilst avoiding all routes where I might have been seen by someone. Closing the door behind me, I wasn't surprised to hear it click as it locked me in, Tony's doing no doubt. Nor could I be surprised when I realised all my suits had been removed from the wardrobe. The intent was clear enough. I was grounded inside the base.

I sat down on my bed with the knowledge that the night would be a long one.

"Karen, that information I found, could you send it to Friday please?" I began to say. For once there was no reply from the AI that I had grown to love. "Friday?" I tried again, but once more there was no reply. I even looked at my phone, but the high tech device had no power despite the life-long battery it was supposed to have. Tony had cut me off from everyone as a punishment it seemed.

Perhaps he didn't realise the truth of what he was doing. Cutting me off from everyone had already been done long ago: My mother, father and lately my uncle were lost to me; my Aunt was somewhere abroad and I wasn't allowed to even speak to her; my friends were getting on with their lives having been told to forget about me; the avengers were not talking to me and now the man who I had begun to trust like a father had told me he didn't want me around. I was alone and had been for a long time already.

I was woken early the next morning after a long and restless sleep.

"Mr Stark has requested your presence at 12 noon in the meeting room. General Cross would like a word." Friday's voice echoed around the room. I jumped up, grateful to hear his voice.

"Friday, the files…" I tried again, trailing off when it became clear that he was not going to answer me. Things hadn't calmed down since last night and the files were still apparently a taboo subject. I got dressed slowly, waiting the hours in my room until General Cross was going to arrive.

Perhaps I should have been nervous for the General's visit: he made his position quite clear when I had first met him and I had no reason to believe his stance would have changed since my blatant disregard for his rules, but in all honesty, I couldn't bring myself to worry about him. He was just a big man in a suit. The worst he could do would be to ban be from the avengers, and with Tony being like he was at the moment, my involvement seemed pretty far away already now.

Still, when I released out of the room at 5 minutes to, it didn't help to discover that I was still being ignored. I passed Wanda in the hall talking to Vision, but even she didn't give me a second glance, content with ignoring me. Tony and Steve left the meeting room as I arrived, but instead of wishing me luck as I entered what was going to be an unpleasant time, they just stopped what they were saying and strode past in silence, parting ways at the end of the corridor like they usually do. I walked in hesitantly. General Cross wasn't alone. There was a whole panel of people waiting for me it seemed, ready to make a judgement call on me.

I was right, the meeting wasn't pleasant. I had completely disregarded General Cross, and in doing so, the Sokovia Accords. Without the backing of the rest of the team, in that room I was just Peter Parker, a pathetic school kid in to things he could never understand and comprehend. I was banned from the team, and it was only because I was underage that meant I wasn't shipped off to prison for my actions.

Days passed, followed a week, and then two. I was isolated inside the base constantly, ignored by the avengers and Spiderman faded to be a distant memory. If ever I met an avenger, they would just look at me and leave the room I had entered. Clint normally hesitated slightly like he wanted to say something, but that was almost worst because every time he decided not to. I was just Peter Parker, a nobody.

I finally broke the Sunday of the second week. I walked into the basement – Tony's lab which he had spent most of his time in lately. He didn't look up at me, just continued playing with some machine which any other time would have fascinated me.

"I'm sorry." I said eventually, "I should never have left my post." Tony waited slightly as he slowly and deliberately laid his screwdriver down on the side.

"You still did it. You still put yourself in danger and were almost compromised." His voice was even.

"Yes." I admitted, then I continued when Tony didn't reply, "Yes, I made a mistake. But I meant right." It was true: I didn't enter the base to deliberately go against the others, I didn't enter because I wanted danger – I entered because I thought it would help.

"That's not good enough." He said, folding his arms

"It's true." I said, not willing to get submit to Tony's angry tones. I would admit I didn't carry out the mission as I should, but even then, despite the solitude and the guilt I felt, I couldn't deny myself by saying I was wrong to think I should enter.

"What the hell Peter." Tony blurted out angrily, "We didn't need you to go into that facility. We were doing fine." He shouted,

"I thought I was doing right." I retorted earnestly,

"You weren't and if that's what you think right is, then you should never have been Spiderman in the first place, and you never will be him again." I think pretty much everyone in the base would have heard that statement: he didn't make any attempt to keep this quiet and contained, content with unleashing his fury.

"You're not my father Tony, you don't get to tell me what not to do." I whispered silently, hurt by his accusations. What right did he have to tell me what Spiderman should be? I was Spiderman, suit or no suit.

"Go away. You're not wanted here." Tony picked up his screwdriver angrily, and blatantly turned away from me. I don't know whether he heard what I said before, and I don't care.

I was angry now. I was angry that no-one was listening to me. I wasn't going to lie and say that I regretted everything I did that day. I had always been true to myself, and that would never change. I had tried to make amends, but he just couldn't see that. Tony was just fixated onto what he believed happened and nothing I was ever going to say was going to change that.

For the first time since arriving at the base, I really truly wanted out. What was the point on being an avenger if your team mates didn't have your back when you needed them. None of them where standing up for me or even speaking to me – they were just following Tony's rule not to talk to me. They didn't care. No-one did.

'You're not wanted here.' Tony's voice taunted my thoughts. 'We don't need you." he had said. Well, I thought angrily as I thought back to Steve's refusal to look at me and to the other avengers, the ones I used to idolise, who had ignored me and walked away from me time and time again; perhaps I didn't need them. I had managed fine before they arrived. I had made my suit on my own, and had taken down a vulture without their help. I didn't want to be here. I wanted out.

So I left. Entering the world outside, alone.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Hi, hope you are enjoying the chapter so far. I've had to change the point of view halfway through this chapter. I'm not normally a fan of changing person or point of view half way through a story, but its necessary for how I plan to set out the rest of the story. Let me know if you think it reads strange because of this.**

 **A lot of reviews are saying that the avengers are treating Peter harshly at the moment. I felt quite mean even writing it, but not to worry. It won't last. There is a reason why they are doing this which you will find out probably in the next chapter. There's also a bit of Ned here for those of you who were waiting for him to turn up!**

 **Enjoy!**

It was cold outside, an icy frosty night that seemed to freeze anything and everything. I shivered involuntarily, my body betraying me. It had been ok during the day where the sun warmed the streets and the people were a welcome distraction to the challenging night ahead. But now the sun had set and the foreboding moon had risen, an ominous silhouette that in spite of its usual comforting presence, could now only pose a daunting prospect for the night ahead. This was my first night on the streets, my first night where I was truly alone.

When I had first escaped the Avengers base, I headed straight towards home almost without conscious thought. It took a long time without my webs, longer than I had expected and by the time I had reached my Queens, it was late in the day. The walk on the pavement felt familiar and alienated at the same time: I had of course walked it hundreds of times before and yet this time felt different. I knew everything about my patch. I knew the best places for lookouts. I knew where bank robbers and petty theft criminals would hide. I even knew the best way to travel from the flat to the corner shop using webs whilst taking long enough so Aunt May wouldn't suspect anything.

And yet, this time I felt as though I knew nothing at all: there was a road closure sign on the lamp post and I had no idea how long it had been up; Mrs McCready at number 24 had moved out and I didn't know why; little Margaret Jones had started big school for the first time and I didn't know if she liked it - These were things I should know, and would have done if I had stayed put. And then I saw the obvious sign that showed that I was no longer a resident here. On my flat window, a shiny new to rent sign had been placed.

That was my home. Aunt May should be in there cooking Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner, and instead she was miles away and on her own. Instead, there was an empty kitchen: a hollow shell of what should have been. The place was empty. Of course it would have been – there would be no point keeping up the rent on a place where neither of us was living any more so it shouldn't have been a surprise to me.

Except it was. For some strange reason I thought everything could have been as it were before. I thought I would have been able to come home and escape everything like I always used to. There was no going back now. I couldn't stay here. Not in the midst of what my life had once been. So, for the second time in my life, I walked away from my home towards the unknown. It was easier that way.

….

"Lila, stop worrying. It's just a test. You'll do fine." Clint reassured his daughter. He leant back against the wall lazily, pausing as a small smile began to etch across his face at her reply.

"Alright, I'll speak to you later." He finished his call with his finger already halfway to the end button.

"What's up with her?" Natasha asked from the next room, her voice laced with a little concern. She was stretched out across a sofa whilst watching some random film on TV.

"Spelling test. Tricky one apparently." Clint replied, walking back into the room and sitting down at the end of the sofa. "Oh and apparently she and Cooper were playing with my bow again." He said disgruntled. Natasha just laughed at this. It seemed cruel to laugh in a way but their problems were so petty compared to the ones they faced on a daily basis, and yet they made it sound so serious. Of course, deep down they knew they should be thankful if a spelling test was the least of little Lila's concerns, but after seeing what they had seen it was just that, laughable.

"When are you going to see them next?" Natasha asked more seriously

"Soon. Maybe this weekend."

"You'll have to ask General Cross." Natasha reminded him as Clint scoffed.

"Stupid accords," he muttered, "Can't even see my kids when I want to." Clint had never fully agreed with the accords, and this was why: they controlled every aspect of his life. He couldn't go to any country without prior permission, he couldn't have a weekend off unless they said he could. It was just too much of it.

"Mr Barton, Miss Romanoff," A cool quietly spoken voice echoed in the room, Jarvis. "Mr Stark would like me to ask you if you have seen Mr Parker." He informed them. Clint and Natasha looked at one another confused

"No," Clint said abruptly,

"Can't you run a search?" Natasha asked curiously. Jarvis could inspect every room in this facility and always knew where everyone was. If Peter would in this base, he would know.

"I already have." Came Jarvis' solemn reply. With that, Natasha and Clint immediately and without question got to their feet and moved out of the room.

….

It was later now of course. I felt beyond cold and had now resigned to the fact that I was going to spend a night outside in the streets. I had left my bank card at the base too – it would have been far too easy just to enter a bank and get cash. Even so, the cash I would have to use would have been Mr Stark's and judging by our current relationship, I was in no hurry to use his money any time soon. In other words, I had nothing.

I was on my own with this one. For weeks now, I had taken advantage of what I had. Even when facing the vulture I had Mr Stark who would have backed me up. This time I didn't. There were no baddies to fight this time. No enemies to take down. It was just a problem, the same as everyone else gets and I was going to have to deal with it.

I sat down in the narrow alleyway, hugging my legs to my chest to keep out the bitter chill. The alley was deserted: a rubbish chute was piling up further down, and a fire escape sheltered me from the sky above. It began to rain, the water cascaded down, hitting the stairs bubbling up into large clumps before dripping on me. It plastered my hair against my face and soaked my clothes. Great – this was just what I needed right now. Lightening stuck down and the thunder boomed, its sound escalated and amplified as it echoed around the buildings.

Exhausted, I got out my phone and played around with it, conscious of keeping it dry. I had contacts on there. Lots of them, but no one who I could phone. No one who could help me get out of this one. Do I regret leaving the base? Not really, in spite of everything I couldn't just stay there and pretend I was ok. I would have chosen a better day to leave though, perhaps a time when I could have been a little more prepared.

'Calling Ned." My phone squeaked out. I hadn't meant to press his button, but my finger slipped on the screen. Recklessly and a little irresponsibly, I let it ring.

"Peter? Pete. Are you ok? Why are you contacting me?" an anxious voice rang out. I smiled, grateful to hear his voice even though I wasn't supposed to call him.

"Peter. Is there a problem? Oh man, do you want me to call Mr Stark or something?" Ned said once more.

"No." I blurted out before I knew what I was saying. "I'm fine. I just." I paused slightly. "I'm got a problem but its fine. I'm dealing with it."

"Then why are you calling? Not that I don't want you to but Mr Stark said not to contact you." I didn't reply. "If you want to pop round, I have a new lego kit that you can help me with" he tried unsure of what to say.

"You're not about to die are you? Only you never call and…" he trailed off unsurely once more

"Ned. I'm not about to die. It's not that kind of problem. And I can't come round. I…" I trailed off, letting out a breath of air in frustration, "Look sorry for bothering you. See you around." Then I hung up, without waiting for a reply. It was too hard to speak to Ned. If I stayed, it would have been too easy to give in.

The night set. Once upon a time I would revel in the night, swinging around as if I owned the place. Now it was my enemy. I succumbed to the darkness unwillingly.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: I do not own Avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Hey! I updated relatively quickly this time! I really enjoyed writing Clint in this chapter as I think he has experience no one else has.**

 **I got a comment from the reviews that I meant to answer last time about whether I would introduce the Defenders. Sorry to say that I unfortunately don't have Netflix and have never watched the programme so no Netflix characters will turn up. I might briefly mention an Agent of Shield character in the future but it won't be big so no worries if you haven't watched it. Still deciding on that one though.**

 **There are a lot of loose ends and various parts of the story that will be coming together in the next few chapters so I hope you enjoy them!**

"Ok Friday. Track his suit for me." Tony Stark stared into the face of multiple holographic computer screens. He was slouched on the chair lazily, his feet balanced on the desk in front, but despite this appearance, his voice showed more than a few signs of concern and frustration at the boy.

"Suits are currently at storage bay 2210." Friday replied automatically. In other words, the suits were in exactly the same position that Tony had put them when he had taken them away from Peter's possession. With a frown, Tony sat up a little straighter in his chair, knocking a pen to the floor as he did so.

"What about his old retro type suit? The weird one with the googles. I put a device in them." He tried again.

"Same position Sir. Mr Parker has no suits, both those with and without tracking capabilities available to him." Friday said. Though she was only a computer, her voice held a sort of mournful tone at this.

"So where is he?" Tony tried again. He jumped upwards are leant towards the screens, typing furiously at a speed which seemed impossible to follow. It was at this point that the rest of the team filed into the room. They seemed to take one look at Tony and be able to understand his current predicament, for at first they left him be with the knowledge that only he would be able to find Peter.

"He just left." Natasha stated as she leaned over his shoulder onto the screens that Tony was currently viewing. The image wasn't perfect, but it was quite clear about what it showed – Peter leaving the building with a rucksack. No struggle, no suit. The statement was the cold hard truth, but the reason was anything but clear.

"What did he do that for?" she murmured, pulling away.

"You're an idiot Stark." Clint said abruptly. He did not normally voice his opinion, content to simply watch any discussion from the background, however for once he let his opinion show. Tony sat back and twizzled around in the chair to look at him.

"I'm an idiot? What the hell do yeh mean? I didn't tell him to leave." He said furiously. When Tony was at this point of frustration, it was usually best just to leave him to cool down, just as they had been doing pretty much all week, but this time, it had gone on long enough. Clint stood bolt upright and stood his ground.

"I mean that you basically did tell to go. 'You're not wanted here.' I heard you. You've been treating him like dirt for ages."

"You were listening in." Tony said stiffly.

"I was in the vents." Clint replied, even his usual placid temperament seemed to rile up at this. "You told him to leave. You didn't even let him explain. I can't say I'm too surprised that he did after that."

Tony was quiet for a while as he took in what was being said. "Yeah, well he should know I didn't mean it." He blurted out as he turned back to the screens. The other avengers were quiet for a moment, busy digesting what they heard and swapping sideways looks at one another to gauge their opinions. But Clint wasn't done yet. He had only just begun.

"Should he?" he said, stepping forward, "You're the one who took him in Tony. I don't know all that much about the kid to be honest with you, but I've only ever heard him talk about his Aunt. Not his mother and father, and not his uncle." He took a breath looking Tony directly in the eye, "Can't say for certain but I'm willing to bet there's some history there. What you say has consequences. You should know that." He finished, averting his eyes at the end.

"I'm not his father," Tony retorted, a little quieter than usual, "he made that quite clear."

"Sometimes you don't have to be." Clint said equally quietly, "You're not the only one who had daddy problems Stark." Throughout this entire debate, the other avengers had been relatively quiet, and it was pretty obvious why – Clint was a dad. The only one out of all of them who could honestly say he could relate to the situation. Tony was a novice and had a lot to learn. He wasn't Peter's father, but he was probably the closest substitute he had for one at the moment. Ever since that last mission, it became clear that Clint had a lot to discuss with him, but it was difficult when the man in question had done his best to avoid everyone: when Tony was set on an idea, there was no moving him from it.

"You treated him bad too." Tony tried to excuse himself, "You can't put this all on me."

"You told us to." Natasha inputted for the first time, her soft voice a sharp contrast to the rough tone of the others, "A punishment you said." She reminded him

"And he needed to know that going in that base was wrong."

"He's a kid Tony." Clint said, his voice getting louder as he got angrier. "All kids make mistakes. Hell, Cooper and Lilla once decided they'd camp outside for the entire night without telling Laura and I. We were furious with them but they did it because they didn't know they shouldn't."

"Yeah, well he's Spiderman. He doesn't get to make mistakes." Tony tried to hold his ground desperately as he knew he was failing.

"We've all made mistakes. Correct me if you're wrong but didn't you once tell a terrorist your home address? And you also almost died going through a black hole" Clint blurted out, "Steve, didn't you enter a Nazi base all on your own, pretty much first mission after the serum? Wanda wanted out of the first fight she was in and Vision, is a basically a computer. He doesn't count. Oh and Nat, one word – Budapest." His point was pretty clear: they had all made mistakes at one point or another. They were all going to make mistakes in the future and Peter was no different.

"Oh and you're perfect I suppose."

"Hell no. You know that." Tony was losing his point quickly. He was not one to be outdone, and would never admit to being wrong about anything, but even he could see his failings for this one. Regardless, the last word always had to be his.

"Does it matter?" he blurted out, "What matters is that we find him" With which he turned back to the screens and started typing, if possible even more furiously than he was before. Clint took a deep breath, grateful that he had won this battle. He turned around to the others: Steve was sporting a small grim smile – thankful that someone had said it but with the knowledge that the problem was far from solved. Wanda gave him a reassuring nod too, but her eyes were scared.

"We'll go out. Search the streets." Wanda said, turning away and leading the others with her. Tony watched them go, his fingers poised over the keypad as he froze whilst they left. There was an awkward silence, filled only by the hum of machinery and computers.

"Howard did this to you didn't he?" A voice interrupted the silence. Steve had stayed momentarily. "I know the man you knew was different to the one I knew but…" he trailed off, unwilling to turn this into the argument that had always erupted every other time Tony's father's name was mentioned.

"Ignoring me was his favourite punishment." Tony muttered quietly. Steve hesitated, but it soon became clear that that was all he was going to get from Tony. Tony had buried his soul from this matter long ago and he didn't like it being brought up all the time. With one last look at Tony, Steve too walked out the room, picking up pace in order to catch the others up.

And then Tony was alone with only his computers to work with. He had no way to track Peter -he had even isolated the boy's phone for fear of anyone else tracking him so that option was out. For the second time since he gave him the suit, he had taken it away when he needed Peter to have it the most. But this time he wasn't going to let Peter deal with it alone. He was going to find him, and quickly.

….

I don't normally ignore my Spidey sense. It's kept me out of more than a few sticky situations before and pretty much saved my life every night when I first went out as Spiderman. However, when I felt the familiar tingle on the back of my neck, I was for the first time half tempted to ignore it. I wasn't Spiderman any more, and it wasn't really my problem if a mugger got a lucky night tonight – I was too busy shivering around the tiny patch of warmth that my body provided for me.

Of course, needless to say eventually my conscience won out. I opened one eye unwillingly, and then the other. At first all I could see was a blur, the sleepiness still caught up within me. Then, I began to see shapes and eventually the outline of people. It wasn't a mugger this time.

"Hey guys, can't you see I'm trying to catch a sleep here." I said, my Spiderman personality coming out more than my Peter Parker one. "Give a man a break." The outline of the men didn't move straight away, making me a little tenser. If they woke me up even more than they had already, I would not be happy.

"Guys, cut it out." I tried again impatiently

"Yeah, we've got him." A low voice spoke out loud. "He's right here." That didn't sound so good. I slowly sat upright and focussed in on the first time on the men in front of me. They recognised me so I was half interested to know who it was. Not Tony of course, he wouldn't care that much but maybe one of the others if I'm lucky? Then, the men became clear at last…

… and I didn't recognise them.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I do not own the Avengers or Spiderman**

 **Hey. Sorry for not updating for a while. I have been pretty busy lately, but here is a chapter for you to enjoy. I love your feedback, so keep it coming please!**

The man at the front who was clearly the leader, was dressed in thick almost military style clothing. He had a short beard and a moustache which along with his long hair seemed to overshadow his face so that only the dark pits of eyes could be seen underneath. His large stature seemed to swamp the narrow alley, his presence filled it so completely, drawing my gaze to the effect that I almost forgot about the others. And yet, he wasn't alone. More men could be seen dressed in the same combat clothing all around him. Most flanked his rear but I could almost spot a few up in the air, snipers maybe.

"Hey. What's your problem?" I asked, hoping I sounded offhanded and not scared, for these men were serious. I tried to pull my phone out from my pocket discretely, but I fumbled and it fell to the floor.

"Enough. We talk later." The first bloke said, his voice scratched out the words in a slight accent. I didn't recognise the area he came from, which only added to his whole unpleasant demeanour. Then I focussed on what he was saying. Later, as in he thought we would be able to talk later. Things suddenly became clear. This man had been looking for something– 'We've got him' he said. Him as in me. And he must have been talking to someone who was not here which meant he wasn't the only one wanting to find me.

Though I have been Spiderman for a fair bit of time now, I can honestly say that I have never been hunted. Sure I made enemies, but the only enemies I made had been petty criminals, who were really no hassle and definitely not organised, and the vulture. But even the vulture was locked away and couldn't bother me right now. My point is, that I had no idea who these men were. I had never met them before, but they obviously wanted me. And that scared me, a lot.

Yeah, I know 'Spiderman doesn't get scared.' I wish. The hollow emptiness and uneasy that gripped my body and the fact that my brain was flying with thoughts could only mean one thing. I was scared. I was well out of my depth with this one and I knew it.

"So how are we going to do this?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady despite it wanting to shake.

"Come quietly, or…" the man trailed off, the rest not needing to be said.

To hell with coming quietly.

I burst into action, my legs moving suddenly and swiftly as I began what was inevitable. I flung onto the first man I came to and smashed my arm towards him until he crumpled beneath me, unconscious. Then, without skipping a beat I was onto the next, taking him down in little to no time at all. I swung my body around swiftly, my senses letting me take in all my surroundings all at once.

They say that it times of crisis, everything feels like it is happening really slowly. Have you ever had that dream where something bad is happening right in front of you, and you try to run but you can't move? Or even if you can move, it's like you are walking in water, getting nowhere. That's not what it's like for me. I'm kind of the opposite. When things get bad, everything speeds up: my senses go into overdrive, my body moves and my mind with it before I can even compute what I am doing. I don't know if it's a post Spider Bite thing or if it's just me, only that its helped me out before, and it was helping me out again now.

The next man I attacked had had some training. He tried to fight me and take me down, even landing a good shot that caused me to jerk away slightly, but even he couldn't overcome my spider abilities. I pushed him away roughly into the wall, but as I did so, another man came up from my rear and grabbed one of my arms, pushing me to the ground. I struggled with him for a moment, eventually getting my arm free to a position that I could activate my web shooters. The very same web shooters that Tony Stark had taken away.

With no luck on that front, I automatically switched tactics with barely a second of hesitation. I leant back against the wall, grateful that we were in a narrow alley so I had some protected sides. Using the wall as a balance, I jumped up and kicked the man away acrobatically, not caring if I left a bruise.

The fight continued for a considerable amount of time – for every man I took down another seemed to emerge just as quickly. My muscles ached and yawned, a sure sign at how out of practise I was at this kind of heavy, continuous fighting. At the first chance of a reprieve, I pulled away further into the alley until I reached the back wall. Then with a frantic glance behind me, I began to climb.

My hands and feet easily stuck to the wall – another spider ability that proved its worth. Instantly, I moved up the wall and away from the men below. Soon enough, the wind began to batter against my skin, pulling me gently and cooling me. It was light and free now as it danced through the sky. I relished in it, enjoying the way it felt against me and forgetting the first rule that I had made after becoming Spiderman – A fight is never over until it's won.

For at that moment of blissful escape, a sniper found its aim. With the first clear shot of the night, he took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. Seconds later, I jerked suddenly as something made an impact. Looking down, the result was clear to see – a small sedative filled bullet was released into me.

Then I fell. The air that felt so cool and relaxing before suddenly gave me no comfort as I fell through its clutches. It zoomed past me quicker and quicker as the ground came closer. Hard solid ground. I had no webs. I had no way out of this. My vision turned blurry even in mid-air. Then my body jolted to abrupt stop. I didn't feel the pain -that would come later. Right now I was lost.

I had reached solid ground, but my brain kept falling deeper and deeper down. Hazily, I noticed the man with the long hair walk up to me.

"We're bringing him in." I think he said. And then, I fell into darkness' grasp.

….

"I searched this whole block. He is not here." Wanda informed Natasha as they met up on a street corner. Though it was late at night, the city felt quite alive: cars were still zooming past on the streets, even going the speed limit and then some as they felt they could get away with it under the cover of darkness. The billboards still lit the streets, their artificial brightness flooding the pavement below.

"He's not this way either." Natasha murmured.

"Where…" Wanda tried to speak but Natasha cut her off commandingly.

"I don't know. I've heard from the others too. We've checked the whole of Queens." She seemed worried, a trait that seemed foreign to the infamous Black Widow. "He could be anywhere. Even on the roof tops. He's Spiderman." The two friends stopped on pavement to talk, not caring about who they were holding up as the other pedestrians had to squeeze past them.

"What do we do?" Wanda asked feeling guilty. She had helped lead Peter away from them, and now he was on his own. Tony had confirmed it: he had no suit, no money or place to live and no friends whom he could contact. The avengers were his friends, and yet they had driven him away when he needed him. It was the highest failing.

"Stark." Natasha spoke almost before her phone had even started to ring. Her senses were on high alert, just as they were for any mission. "Understood." She said, after listening to him for a few moments. Then she hung up without saying goodbye.

"Stark wants us back at the tower." She informed Wanda.

"Has he found him?" Wanda replied quickly and hopefully, but Natasha's face remained grim as she led the way back.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Hi guys, sorry for the long wait for the update. To make up, this is one of my longer chapters. Next one will contain Ned, and in person, not a phone call, for everyone who has been waiting for that! In the mean time, enjoy this chapter and thank you for all your support! 300 followers is amazing and we are coming close to 200 favourites. It all means the world to me so thanks once again**

They always say that everything looks a little brighter in the morning, that somehow, the night would be able to cast away all your worries and fears. But have they ever told you that they're wrong? At least that's what I have found. Instead, the night seemed to draw my troubles out until they rested on the surface, omnipresent and impossible to evade.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the heat: It was not a comfortable warmth but a hot sticky humidity that caused my clothes cling to me unwillingly and making me feel tight. Then came the inevitable, the realisation of my current predicament. I was standing upright, forced to my feet by the thick rope that entangled my wrist and led all the way to the ceiling. My feet dangled loosely below, only just reaching the floor and even then, not taking my full weight. The room itself was bare, devoid of any furniture or coverings and left with only dust to build up over time. There were no windows, the only light being a small, dim bulb. Every time it flickered, I couldn't help but wonder whether the next time, it would decide not to turn back on and I would be left with only the darkness for company.

I felt woozy, the drugs that they had used to sedate me was still trying to leave my system, and yet when the door slammed open noisily, my mind suddenly became alert and attentive. A man strode into the room confidently, his lab coat billowing out behind him almost dramatically. He took one glance at me, let out a huff of air meaning who knows what, before he looked down and wrote notes on clipboard he held. I recognised him immediately:

"You're the lab man." I mumbled, "From that base." The man in question did not look up immediately, but when he did it was slow and deliberate.

"You may call me doctor." He said bluntly leaving no room for arguments.

"Doctor what?" I asked, "No wait, Doctor who?" I tried, but even my attempts at humour fell flat as I came up with such a rubbish, overused phrase. The man didn't even grace me with a response. He just reached into the holdall bag that he brought with him, rummaging around a bit until he found what he was looking for.

"You… er… This is kinda of the moment where you tell me your whole evil plan, doctor lab man." I hinted, trying to get somewhere in this conversation. My spider sense was going nuts, there was something very wrong about this whole situation, and I wanted to delay this man as long as possible.

"You saw those papers in the lab. You know what we are up to." Doctor replied vacantly, "And it's Doctor Leon, if you must know." He finished, apparently not happy with my name for him. Though this was only the second time we had spoken, I already knew that there was something about this man that made every word he said irk me. The way he assumes things and blows me off just frustrated me. Or maybe it was just because I hadn't read the papers that I had got Karen to scan that day on the base. I never got a second look at them – sure I gave them to Tony when we got back, but I never bothered to actually read it myself – I regret that now.

"So… you're looking at that then." I tried slowly, trying not reveal that I didn't know anything but still trying to get to get the result I wanted.

"I would have thought that would have been obvious, Peter Parker." Doctor replied, murmuring, "How better to recreate the serum that to use one already converted." Ok, I wasn't getting this straight away. What did he mean converted? What did he mean by capturing me in the first place? Nothing made sense.

Except that the pieces were there, just waiting to be put together. He wanted to create a serum of sorts, a serum that apparently I already had. But I had never had any serums of any sort in my life, not unless you count the kid vaccination serums I guess but every kid had them. No, I was barking up the wrong tree with that one – it must be something else. I searched my brain quickly trying to find out what I knew about the organisation but nothing came to mind.

Who uses the word serum anyway? I thought absentmindedly. Thinking back, the only time I had ever heard the word used before was in relation to making super soldiers. Other than that, people call things substances or mixtures. It was a strange word.

Then suddenly it clicked – super soldiers. There was gamma radiation in that base. We had already guessed it might be something to do with this. Maybe, maybe they were trying to make another serum – they wouldn't be the first to try and recreate the results, you only had to look at Bruce Banner for that one. It all made sense.

Doctor Leon found what he was looking for at last by the triumphant but quiet "ah ha," which he muttered under his breath. He pulled out a surgical needle of sorts, and attached one into to a tube which went to a bag, kind of like an IV line. I looked at it hesitantly, wondering what if was for because there could be no doubt that it was not anything good.

"What's that for?" I said quickly.

"I would have thought that would have been obvious," Doctor Leon replied, "They said you were clever. They were wrong." He added.

"Then enlighten me."

"We need you - we want the super soldier serum that runs through your veins. We need to extract it and replicate it." He said, coming closer to me as he did so. I tried to squirm away, but tied up like I was I couldn't move far enough. I kicked my legs out, but without being able to touch the floor, there was no traction to gain. He slowly pushed the needle into me, a small amount of pain was released and soon enough my blood began to drip through, red liquid began to fill up the bag that he had left.

"I don't have that serum." I said frantically, eying the bag as my breathing began to deepen nervously. This wasn't a game anymore.

"Wrong." Dr Leon said without emotion, "We know you have it. We have seen it. And you are easier to get to than the famous Captain America." He paused for a second as he reached into his phone, fiddled with a few buttons and held it up so I could see. There was a video shown on the display. Firstly of me in Germany against Captain America holding up all that weight he dropped on me. Then of my fast reflexes as he showed a video that was clearly some sort of CCTV when I got Wanda out of the building. Then of me trying to climb a wall as I escaped the men just last night. It was obvious what it looked like.

"Yeah, I can do that but it's not from a serum." I tried to explain, my words barely formulating in my panic. I got my abilities from a spider bite. There was no injection from a serum nor any experimentation. "It just occurred from an accident. Nothing more." I blurted out, trying to make the man see reason. He wasn't having any of it though. I tried to wriggle, to try and remove the needle from where the blood was now freely flowing away from me, but to no avail. I was trapped, and things had just gone from bad to even worse.

…

"Tell me you have something." Tony stated bluntly as the team walked into the room. There was silence for a while, Wanda discretely looked over to Vision, wondering if her friend had noticed how much Tony had changed since finding out Peter had left. "Cross wants to send us on a mission" Tony added on, "I can only refuse him if we have something." He scanned the over quickly and efficiently, the guilt he felt still as present as ever.

There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air. None of them wanted to relay the bad news, but the sight of Tony feeling so distressed was so unlike him that they didn't want to make his demeanour any worse. Tony looked tired, wide eyed and with rings under his eyes. There was none of that usual jokey spirit of his that annoyed Steve so much, it was just so foreign to see.

Natasha eyed him up,

"Nothing." She said regretfully on behalf of the others, taking the lead of the team as she silently quite often did. "But we will find something." She reassured him gently.

"When?" Tony mumbled, looking out of the window and gazing out. Far below them was the city of New York, bustling with life. Yellow cabs would rush past as the sky scrapers reached up to new heights. They were at the top of the world: from up here everything always seemed so small and tiny, but right now the streets below had never been so big, and Peter could be anywhere among them. Tony took a deep breath, composing himself for even as lost as he felt right now, he knew he wouldn't want to feel weak in front of the team when this was all resolved. For it would all be resolved, he would make sure of that.

"Cross wants us on a mission." He repeated unwillingly, trailing off as he left the others to decide. But no–one wanted to leave the case, no one wanted to give up, even temporarily.

"Where's Steve?" Tony said abruptly as he for the first time realised his absence. He was usually always exactly on time, the first to arrive but today he was the last. It was at that opportune moment that the man in question burst onto the scene. He seemed in a hurry, his feet moved faster than he did as his skirted the door and entered.

"This is his isn't it?" He blurted out, rushing forward and thrusting something into Tony's hand. "I found it in an alley in Brooklyn. It looks like his. Please tell me it is." He was on edge, blurting out anything and everything. The device was a phone: not quite a flip phone but still not much more up to date than that – recognisable was the word that came to mind.

"What were you doing in Brooklyn?" Clint said, "We were supposed to be in Queens. That's where he lives."

"I took a detour, I had already searched the bit of Queens you told me to search." Steve excused himself from the accusation. "Is it his?" he said again.

"It's his." Tony confirmed, having spent the last few seconds hacking the password and searching around: his contact list confirmed it. "Where in Brooklyn?" He said immediately. Steve rattled off the address quickly as Tony grabbed his laptop. His fingers sped over the keyboard as he brought up what was clearly the CCTV from the alley Steve had mentioned.

When Steve had arrived, there was a short burst of hope. A location meant that they could use CCTV and could track his movements. Then, they could catch up with him and make this right: they would go back to being the avengers and Tony would be able to be forgiven - a perfect end to a horrible situation. But soon enough, that bubble of hope popped.

The image shown on the screen was grainy and unfocussed, but the events were clear. Firstly, Peter sleeping on the floor, visibly shivering against the bitter cold. Then came those men, the fight followed and finished with the conclusion that none of them wanted. Tony swore as he laid back in his chair, his eyes fixated on the sight in front of him.

He closed his eyes to tear himself away from the image even though it felt hard to do so.

Because it hurt to watch Peter in so much pain when he couldn't help.

Because he was the one that made sure Peter was in this position in the first place.

Because, all of this was entirely his fault.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I do not own the avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Sorry its taken me so long to update - I'm getting so much work at the moment so its hard to find spare time to write. Excuses over, thank you as always for your continued support. It means a lot to me. The DVD comes out today where I am so I'm really excited to watch the film again - I only ever saw it once in July so its been a long time. That will hopefully mean my characterisation will get better as I relearn how everyone acts! Enjoy this chapter.**

In some respects, this was better. Now they knew where Peter was, or rather where he wasn't, they could focus their search. Instead wandering around aimlessly, they had someone to track, someone who they could pass the blame onto rather than leaving it all on their shoulders. But every time a logical argument such as this one was reluctantly pulled to the forefront of Tony's mind, it was pushed back down, for try as he might, there was no escaping the undeniable truth, the cold hard fact that this was definitely worse.

To add salt to the wound, General Cross had been on Tony's case for ages now. Some mission… but it hardly seemed important right now, not when Peter was trapped wherever he now was. And yet, there was only so long they could keep denying him. The accords that had once seemed like such a great solution, now trapped them to his cause – sooner or later, they would have to do his bidding or else risk confinement. And yet, how could they even contemplate it when faced with Peter's predicament.

He was just a kid. Just a 15 year old idiot who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and decided to make the best out of a difficult situation. He made himself Spiderman, but he never asked for all this -he didn't even want to be an avenger for pity's sake. What good were the avengers now when they couldn't even find one kid?

Tony was tired. He hadn't slept for days: every time he closed his eyes he became haunted by the mere thought of Peter, of what those men could be doing to him. Even now, as he slumped in front of Jarvis' holographic screen watching endless past CCTV footage, sleep didn't come to him. He himself was a mess, only held together by numerous coffees and teas. He would resort to alcohol, but there was no secret in the fact that if his previous record was anything to go by, if he started doing that he probably wouldn't stop. Peter needed him to stop so that he could find him.

The air was deadly still, broken only by a sharp ringing that jolted Tony out of his seat – the phone was emitting a long piercing wail of a tune. Any other time, Tony would have laughed at Peter for having such an annoying ringtone, but now, he could only stare vacantly. It could ring all it liked – Peter wasn't going to be able to answer it.

Without warning, he snatched the phone with one hand, flipped the lid up and answered it.

"Peter's not available right now. If you want to leave a message, you're out of luck." He said into it without great vigour. His hand was already halfway to the end call button when a voice rang out.

"Mr… Mr Stark? Is that you?" It was a young voice, but one that Tony didn't recognise. He drew the phone away from his ear slightly and glanced at the display.

"You're Ned." He said bluntly, "One of Peter's friends."

"You know my name?" Ned seemed highly excitable at this, "Oh my god, The Tony Stark knows my name. That is so cool." He drew in a breath nervously.

"You phoned Peter. What do you want?"

"Oh um, Its ok Tony Stark, I…er… I just wanted to know if he was ok. He sounded pretty bad when I spoke to him. And I haven't spoken to him for ages before then." He continued to stammer out words for a moment longer, but by that point Tony predictably wasn't listening, his mind was transfixed on just one thing.

"You spoke to him?" he blurted out, cutting Ned off in mid-spiel. The was a small pause,

"Yeah, the other night." Ned replied unsurely. Tony turned away from the phone quickly, giving him just enough time to confirm with Friday what he was thinking. It was true, Ned had spoken to Peter the night he was taken. Which meant, Ned might know something – he was Peter's friend after all, who else would he confide in?

"You home kid?" Tony asked quickly, hesitating at the use of the nickname he normally only reserved for one particular kid. "I'm coming round." Then he hung up and all but ran out of the room. This was the first lead they'd had for ages. There was nothing to be gained by CCTV, the people who took him were all but untraceable and even the phone was a dead end, but if Ned knew something then he wouldn't have to trace them. It was all he had and he was going to take it.

He hurried out into the corridor and into the lift, all but shouting at Friday to take him to the rooftop as he did so. His latest suit would be waiting for him there – it was the quickest way to get to Ned Leeds, if not the most inconspicuous. But before the lift had barely seemed to start moving, if was slowing. The doors slipped open silently and Steve Rogers walked through.

"I was just looking for you." He said reluctantly, "General Cross has told me you have to go on this Avengers mission." He spoke carefully, choosing his words precisely and thoughtfully. He did this quite often nowadays come to think of it – the ridge after the accords was closing, but it was slow going. Half the time whenever he met the man in front of him, he felt like a war would start once more: something neither of them wanted. They were almost too friendly to one another and too willing to please. Except this time he couldn't please Steve. He couldn't even contemplate going on an Avengers mission with this knowledge hanging over him. Ross was always after them to do something or rather. He had been going on about this mission for days even though it had pretty much nothing to do with anything relevant.

"I can't" Tony said, he looked around behind Steve to check the corridor behind was empty. Then he grasped Steve's shoulder gently and pulled him closer. "Listen. Ned Leeds, Peter's friend was talking to him that night. He might know something. I have to check it out," he whispered urgently, desperate for Steve to understand. Steve looked at him with a pained expression on his face.

It was a little ironic if truth be told. Steve knew he had to follow the accords and Tony wanted to break them – pretty much the exact opposite stance as to how they stood a few months ago. That was the truth of them though – the accords would never be able to suit every circumstance no matter how much writing there was in the small print.

Steve leaned in closer still, "Then, I haven't seen you." He muttered quietly. "Find the kid." Then he stepped back out of the lift and into the empty corridor behind. The lift doors closed silently once more as Steve gave a nod of reassurance. Then, he was hidden from sight.

Meanwhile, miles away in the centre of Queens, Ned was starting to seriously freak out. The reason: the Tony Stark was coming to his house. Like, the Avenger, billionaire, genius Iron Man cladded Tony Stark. It was pretty unbelievable. Ned was pretty much jumping the walls with excitement even before the man in question had hung up. He had remembered to usher his mum and dad out of the house, something about an evening meal – well who would want them to ask awkward questions when Mr Stark arrived. It was better if they were out of the way. He had even, if you would believe it, tidied his room, slightly. In any case, there was no lego to trip up on in the middle of it (just in a pile in the corner). This was the coolest day of his life, and no pesky lego was going to mess it up.

Then Ned sat bolt upright on the sofa impatiently, his fingers drumming his knees excessively as he waiting for the man's arrival. Every so often, he would jump up and run to the peep hole at the door to see if he had arrived, but no luck. For some reason, the thought hadn't occurred to him that it would take much longer than a few minutes for Mr Stark to arrive from upstate, and he was half expecting him to burst through the door at any minute.

What he was not expecting however, was the knock at the back window instead. He frowned slightly in confusion, before jumping to his feet to check out the strange noise. Pulling back the net curtains, a figure could be seen outside. With thick red and gold armour, this man was instantly recognisable from the millions of photos he had seen – Tony Stark had arrived.

"What did Peter say to you?" Tony blurted out as Ned let him in through the back door. Tony burst into the house as though he owned the place.

"Err, Hi Mr Stark Sir, I'm um Ned. Though you probably know that already Mr Stark. Err." Ned stammered and he followed Tony, "Um, nothing really." Tony's face fell slightly at this, and unwilling to disappoint, Ned continued, "He said he had a problem, and he sounded pretty upset Sir. Which is odd right, because Peter doesn't really do upset."

"Did he say anything about any mission? Any men trying to take him or something?" Tony tried again, his voice laced with hidden concern. He was even able to ignore Ned's constant use of his name, a feat that would have been near impossible in a different circumstance.

"No." Ned admitted unwillingly. Tony closed his eyes, a moment of weakness rushing through him. This could have been a lead, and yet again it was only a dead end. Ned no longer felt quite as excited, more concerned now as though the air around him was drawing him back down to earth.

"What's happened Mr Stark Sir." He said earnestly. "Is he ok?" Tony looked up sideways at him before tilting his head to the side in consideration. Then he seemed to shake his head and looked away as he replied.

"Someone's got him." He said quietly, "They took him that night."

"Who?"

"I don't know." Three simple words, and yet their meaning meant so much more. Ned seemed to deflate at this, his heart sinking rapidly. He sat down back on the sofa and played with his fingers in silence, thinking.

"I'll find him." Tony said again, "I will find him." It was a promise, not just to Ned but to himself. For the first time in his entire life, he could understand his dad in one aspect: Steve Rogers had to be found when he went into the ice, and now, in this timeline, Peter Parker had to be found.

"I…" Ned stumbled on his words once more, "I think you should trust him." He said slowly, "Peter's not a kid. He knows what he's doing, some of the time anyway." He looked at Tony straight into the eye, "I'm his guy in the chair, I hang out with him most days" he started to explain, "or used to anyway. I… I… What I'm trying to say is, I know Peter. And wherever he is, he's not going to take it easy. He'll be trying to come home too, Mr Stark."

"What if he can't?" Tony muttered under his breath, a phrase not meant for anyone else's ears, but Ned heard it regardless.

"Trust Peter." Ned repeated once again, nodding his head as he said this in an attempt to reassure himself. There was silence in the room once again, the only noise being the yawning as the sofa moved beneath them. Then, Tony jumped to his feet forlornly, patted Ned's shoulder once by way of thanks and left the building without another word said. Ned watched him, downtrodden. All his life it had been a dream of his to meet Tony Stark, and yet now the day had come and gone, it meant very little. Peter should have been here to introduce him, though he wasn't, and Ned knew that next time Peter would be there by his side; next time he would freak out and wouldn't know what to say; next time would be very different indeed. There was a whirl of an engine as Ned watched Mr Stark step into this suit and fly away.

…

Ages away in some unknown location, I woke up with a start. Or at least, I think I woke up: it was difficult to tell. The light that had been dimly flickering before had faded, cascading the room into darkness. There was no sound to be heard, only the slight yawn as the rope stretched under my weight. I felt weak and drained, and though I was no doctor by any means, even I could tell that that man had taken far more blood than he should have.

Though my mind was far from clear, I knew I had to get out of here somehow. I gingerly yanked on the rope that bound me in the hopes they would give, but unfortunately for me, they held firm and true. There must be something stronger within them, I thought numbly for a mere rope wouldn't ordinarily trouble me. If only I could see it, then I would know what I was talking about.

But I couldn't see it. In my anxiety, my senses were trying to work overtime, but even they could only see the darkness beyond, even my ears could only hear the silence. Have you ever stopped at night and just listened? If you ever try you will hear the soft constant buzzing of nothingness, relentless and monotonous. At night, every sound becomes heightened and amplified, even when there is nothing to hear. For me, it's even worse. For me, no sound is just as bad as too much of it.

I felt so alone, so isolated from everyone else. Time didn't mean much, it just was something else that I didn't know about: day and night all merged into one constant stream of existence. In the days that followed, I was pulled, poked and played with all to my hosts' pleasure. They mostly took more blood, every time a larger quantity than the last until I felt sure I couldn't have all that much left. My skin was littered with various scars from where they'd been none too gentle; my wrists were sore from where the rope shafted upon them; and my arms ached continually under the constant strain. I think they were dislocated though to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if it was worse. In other words, I was a mess.

My only consolation was that the doctor would get nothing from me for the simple reason that they were looking for the wrong thing. I wasn't who they thought I was so these men would never get what they wanted. But that would also mean that they probably are never going to stop trying either. I was so fed up with this, so ready for it to be over and for me to escape. I knew that I had to get out of here, in any way possible. Every time Doctor Leon walked into the room, my heart beat would accelerate faster and faster – it was fear that made me freeze. Sure I spoke back, I would never loose that no matter how hard it got, but every time it was getting more and more difficult to think straight. It was harder to fight back and easy to simply fall into their waiting clutches. No one was coming for me – I was so scared.

….

Tony sat in his lab all night waiting for his friends to come home. He had about 50 missed calls from various people that all had gone straight to voicemail and yet he didn't care. He was ill, torn to shreds by the stress of everything, and even after all that he had nothing. Trust Peter, Ned had said. But trust him to do what? To get himself out? Like he was satisfied waiting for that to happen. He looked over his cluttered desk blankly.

Then it caught his eye. One solitary piece of paper among piles of others. The mission report from what felt like ages ago. The one where Peter had seen a man in the dark that no-one else had seen or had believed him about. Trust Peter: the words vibrated about his head once more gathering speed. Trust Peter? What if there had been a man there that night? What if after everything, the answer was actually right in front of him? Then, at last, he understood the truth.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Hi, another chapter for you. I think this will probably be the last time we get anyone else's point of view in the story - probably. It was really done because I needed to tell the other side of the story, but I'm not a fan of switching it up too often so I will stay in 1st person now.**

 **I want to thank you for all comments, my email box keeps coming up with notifications from this story from people who have put it on their favourites and are following it, particularly in the last few days. It made me very keen to get this chapter out today rather than Wednesday, the day I usually update, so thank you all very much and enjoy this chapter.**

"Suit up, be at the jet in 5 minutes." Tony belted out as soon as the others had returned from their wholly unsuccessful mission. He had a steadfastly determined expression on his face that anyone would know instantly not to cross. Almost simultaneously, everyone jerked into attention.

"You found something?" Steve questioned, stepping forward and holding Tony steady.

"He's in Nevada. There's a small industrial estate in…Look does it matter. I've found him." Though he said it convincingly, after the time spent searching and getting nowhere, it seemed almost miracle to get such a lead. "I'll tell you in the jet." He blurted as he rushed out and away from the others, leaving them hovering in his wake.

True to word, minutes later they were in the air and en route to the location. Tony seemed anxious, pulling the jet to full throttle the moment he could and with no expense spared on the fuel consumption. The other avengers stood in the back, watching him work in trepidation. Steve was volunteered to go forward by the sideways glances – he walked up behind Tony's chair and spoke softly.

"You going to tell us what this about Tony?" he asked. Tony turned around.

"Read that." He said gesturing to a small pile of papers that he had carried in with him. Steve took one glance at it before passing it on to Bruce bewildered: It was presumably something to do with science then.

"What is this?" Bruce muttered after a while, "Where did you get this?"

"It's the print out from those documents Peter was able to get that last mission." He explained anxiously, turning it the jet onto autopilot and turned around in his seat. "Look at this." He said, all but snatching it out of Bruce's hand and turning the page for him onto another. He pointed at one specific point.

"Dr Alexander Leon" Natasha said looking over Bruce' shoulder.

"Yeah, only the bloke doesn't exist. I asked Friday and Friday looked everywhere." Tony explained. "But I did research – there's a paper trail if you know where to look. Dr Leon is the same bloke as a Mr Lewison. He just took the first and last two letters of his surname and stuck them together, made himself a new identity. 'spect he thought he was smart doing that, but it was pretty stupid of him."

"Who is he?" Clint asked, feeling lost in the conversation. He was cut off by Bruce though.

"This is a formula Tony. To make super soldiers." He seemed anxious, no longer reading the paper but instead looking at Tony and Steve collectively, one who had the knowledge and the other who was the only other person in the room who had experienced the effects of a super soldier serum.

"I know. I think they took Peter because of that. He's got the full works, pretty much everything a super soldier is supposed to have. Maybe they took him because of that." Tony reasoned. "It doesn't matter why anyway. There's a link. Remember when Peter said he saw that bloke and we didn't believe him. I looked at the Baby Monitor in Peter's suit – it records what he sees, and he did see someone - Mr Lewison's brother." Tony paused for a moment to catch his breath, conscious of the fact that he had been talking for ages. But the others were still caught up in rapt attention. Things were falling into place.

"And there a match with him and the bloke that was on the CCTV who took Peter." Tony concluded, already turning back to the pilot's chair, evidently not realising the need for the others to ask questions.

"Why Nevada?" Steve asked curiously. Tony didn't skip a beat as he replied.

"Because Mr Lewison, or Dr Leon or whatever, owns an industrial estate there. It makes sense that should be where everything is happening. We're getting Peter back." Tony finished resolutely.

…

The room looked the same as ever the next time I woke up. It was still pitch black, but my eyes had adjusted to this slightly now and I could make out the shapes if nothing else. How long had I been in here for? Days? Maybe even weeks? I have absolutely no way of telling. It could be night, or it could be day for all I knew and cared. The pain that flooded through my body was far more of a concern to me right then. These people, these mad scientists had moved on from just taking blood, because there wasn't enough left within me. These last few times they had been testing me: testing how fast I healed, testing how long my strength would hold. One time, they put me a treadmill, only if I tried to stop I would get an electric shock until I got back on. They wanted data, and they didn't care how they got it. It hurt everywhere: whenever it got slightly better as my advanced healing kicked in, they would come back in and do something else. My arms were terrible now too, they had gone past the stage of hurting and were now just numb. I would hate to think of the damage that had been done to them.

I felt delirious. In the state of half-conscious which I resided in almost constantly, I had more than once looked into the shadows and found something or someone else within them. Aunt May would tell me off, tell me that this was all my fault; Steve would look at me in that same old disappointed stare which always seemed far worse than any words he would say; and Tony would just tell me again and again, "we don't need you," the words reverberated around my mind again and again, each time hurting just as much as the first time he had said them.

Yet it wasn't real. The truth was almost worse – I wouldn't see my friends again. I had pushed them away, left them so they weren't coming for me. That was the only thing I knew for certain. If I was to get out of this hell hole, it would have to be of my own accord, and that seemed near impossible.

I shivered, hung limply in the ropes that bound me, too weak to move. The men would come back soon now that I was awake. They would do more, they would hurt me more. That man in the lab coat with the sneering comments, and the other, the one from the alley were the worst -they were clearly the leaders. It worked something like this: the scientist was the brains; the other was the brawn. A perfect double act, at least for them.

If I'm being truthful to myself, I'm not entirely sure I will last much longer like this. I'm not strong enough to survive. Right now, I'm Peter Parker, a pathetic schoolkid who couldn't even stand up to playground bullies. What was the point of fighting any longer anyway, I didn't have anyone to go back to. I haven't seen Aunt May for ages, so she wouldn't miss me, no one would. I could just give up now, succumb to an easy way out. My story would end here, tied up and lost in the world.

It just didn't feel right though. Giving up was too easy, there was no battle, no fight. No one would know what happened to me. More to the point, these men would get away with all this data. They would know everything about me: they might not be able to find a serum from me, but what if they were able to one day replicate the spider bite with some formula – that was their eventual goal. Then they would hurt others, innocent civilians who didn't deserve any of this and all because I gave up. It would be my fault.

Spiderman would cease to exist too – no one could keep the streets safe like Spiderman could. My Uncle died because Spiderman didn't exist back then. Think of all the people who would have died if I hadn't been around: there would be so many people, all with families would suffer like I did.

The world might not need Peter Parker, but they needed Spiderman, I thought determinedly, so Spiderman was getting out of here.

Fuelled by a new determination, I looked steadfastly to the door, wondering when it would open – it had to be soon, they wouldn't leave me here that long without the next experiment starting. Then, I pulled on the ropes one more time. I let my arms take my weight as I pulled my feet up the nearby wall so that I was crouched in mid-air. My arms burned with the effort even more, the pain so bad that I almost blanked out, but I didn't let go. Instead I pulled, using the wall as a leaver and with gravity in my favour. At first, nothing much happened – the ropes were without a doubt reinforced with something, but then there was a slight rip. My wrists ached with the strain and there was a definite inflamed dent around them where the rope had chaffed and pulled them. I ignored this, my task far more important at this moment than a problem that could be sorted easily when I got out of here, no matter how much it hurt now.

"Come on Spiderman." I muttered as I pulled yet harder, small whimpers of noise escaped my lips out of the effort of it all. Then, with a final tug and a loud audible crack, the ropes broke.

I was falling. The ground was too close, I banged against it noisily, my head knocking against the ground limply. My wrist ached like mad now, I had broken it without a doubt. It screamed like fire burning me up my arm and into my body. And yet that wasn't the most important thing on my mind right now. The most important realisation was that the ropes were gone, and I was free.

I ran to the door as fast as I could, which wasn't all that fast, groping at the door handle in the dark and eventually finding it, I flung it open and tumbled outside. The hall beyond was as dimly lit as the rest of this place, which was a blessing in disguise. It meant that after the hours of darkness, I was not blinded by harsh light. I shakily traced my hand along the left wall as I walked along the corridor, each step was more of an effort than the last. The sooner I was out of here, the better. In my current state, there was no chance of me fighting anyone any time soon and winning.

No sooner had that thought burst into my mind than a baring siren had pierced the air. I froze, terrified that they had already found out that I was missing. Then I heard another noise, footsteps, coming fast. I pulled my beaten body to a nearby door and flung myself inside, not caring if it was occupied or not. Then, I slumped against the floor, I pressed my ear to the door as I waited for the men to hurry past. One single thought pounded against my head hard: I could not be found. Not after everything I had been through.

But in the semi darkness, as I fought to keep my eyes open, I heard something else penetrate the air:

"It's the avengers." One of the men who was hurrying past the door shouted in broken English, "They are here."


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: I do not own the Avengers or Spiderman.**

 **Hi, sorry for the really, really slow update. I'm blaming it on Christmas and exams, though that is no excuse. I will try my best to update the weekend of the 27th, which is the first weekend when all my exams are over. I might even manage to get a chapter out before then. For those of you who I am sure were wondering where I was, I can guarantee you that I will definitely see this story out, no matter how long it takes. Thank you for all your feedback and enjoy the chapter!**

My heart paused mid-beat, frozen with the sudden realisation of what that man had said – the Avengers were here. They had come for me. The relief that came with it took a huge weight of my shoulders as I took a breath in disbelief. Perhaps they did care after all. Perhaps I had read them wrong. I sank further into the ground, adrenaline starting to ebb away slowly. I felt tired, everything I had been through swamped my mind until it became a confused bundle of a mess.

"We don't need you." Tony had said cruelly before. "We don't need you." It echoed around my head again and again, and in my delirious state, it became amplified by a million. But why would he be here? Things didn't make sense anymore, they hadn't for a while now and it all suddenly descended upon me in one foul swoop.

I needed Ned, the voice of reason in this chaos and my link to normality. What would he say if he was here? First, he'd wouldn't believe me, then he'd probably say I was mad and would freak out just as much as I am now. Eventually after all of that, he'd offer me some sound advice without even realising it, advice which ordinarily I would just ignore. Think Peter, what would he say?

He would trust me to get myself out of here. That's what he would say. He never underestimated me, never thought I was any less than anyone else so if I had a chance to get out of here, he would tell me to take it, regardless of what the Avengers were doing. It was no good just waiting for them to come to me.

I got to my feet slowly, gripping onto the door handle tightly to keep myself steady whilst trying to ignore the stabbing pain that it made curse through my wrist up into my arm. Then, I tested myself. If anything, the knowledge that the men outside had unknowingly brought me had made me worse, not better. It took a long time to get me moving again, for some of the adrenaline to come back to take away the pain. I took a shaky breath to calm myself, listening at the door. When I was certain that the men had indeed passed on, I opened the door slowly, still letting it take my weight. Glancing around at the empty corridor, I crept away to find an exit.

The corridors felt endless to me in my battered body: it felt like yet another maze to which an exit seemed illusive. Still, after stumbling through for some time, I found my first glimpse of true freedom. A window. Something so simple that people walk past every day without a second glance, yet for me, it was my first sight of the outside world since I came into this place. I paused by it for a moment, my eyes finally getting used to the light now.

I didn't recognise where I was, and by that, I mean it was nowhere in New York. I was in some sort of desert: sand flooded the ground for miles around, only interrupted by a few scarcely distributed yellowing patches of trees or bushes. The sand was spread out in long lines that looked as though they had rarely been walked upon. If I were to take a guess, the only deserts I knew of in America were all far to the west of my hometown. They stretched for miles and miles – civilisation could be days away walking.

All this meant was that if I were going to escape this place, the only way I would be able to do that would be to find the Avengers. To walk out right now would be madness - I would die of hunger or thirst before I got anywhere at all.

Therein lies the problem: though I had been told the Avengers were here, I hadn't seen even the slightest indication that they were here myself. I would have expected noise at the very least – there was no sign of any fight happening. Maybe they weren't here after all.

"Don't think like that. Come on Peter." Ned's imaginary voice burst into my ear once more. "Stop imagining I'm here and start to actually do something. You're better than this. What would Spiderman do?" he asked me.

Talking to myself was a new low. If my mind had been any kind of normal right now, the thought of what was happening would have been laughable. I probably wouldn't be able to look at Ned the same way again after this. But my mind wasn't normal, and his voice seemed to be the only thing that was keeping me sane right now.

What would Spiderman do? He'd look out for the little guy, he'd save people. The answer was as clear in my head as it had been ever since the day I had taken up the mantle of Spiderman. And that's what I had to do now. I had to save the little guy.

I had to get rid of the data they had collected. Spiderman wouldn't leave that information out there, it was dangerous in the wrong hands. With this knowledge my brain started to work out the problem. The data would be stored somewhere, could be on paper but more likely on a computer. And that meant I needed to delete it, which in turn meant that I really was going to need Ned, and not just as a voice inside my head.

With one last longing look at the outside world, I peeled myself away from the window and out of the room, more confident of my feet that I had been for a while. A new purpose was taking form, pushing me into action.

Thinking back, luck was certainly in my favour in the next few minutes. It was nothing more than chance that meant I didn't meet anyone in this place despite how recklessly I was blundering around the corridors, and perhaps it was fate that regardless of my complete ignorance towards were I was, I was somehow, eventually able to find my way to a room that held a computer.

Though my body betrayed me in speed, I went to that computer as fast as I could and sat down in the chair, glancing up as the door swung shut noisily. I rattled the mouse and clicked a few keys on the keyboard as the device in question whirled on. It seemed to take forever – all I wanted to do was to delete the files and get out of here. The longer I stayed here, the more vulnerable I'd be.

"Come on…" I murmured under my breath, my eyes fixed. Eventually the screen flickered into life, though my heart automatically sank slightly as the first words were read – 'Please enter your user ID and password.' Typical – this was Ned's area of expertise, not mine. It was a bit like that computer in my room – I put it together and Ned got the software to work. That's just how it was.

I paused for a moment, briefly wondering what had happened to that computer. The flat was set to be re-rented now, so my stuff must have put somewhere, just hopefully not in the nearest skip. Regardless, it made no difference now. Time was still passing.

Time, that at that moment, ran out. The door burst open with a bang that reverberated around the room as the metal door hit against the wall. I looked up – a man had burst through the door. He seemed out of breath and anxious, swearing as he noticed I was in the room. Then he looked around behind him nervously, as if wondering if there was anyone to back him up.

I hesitantly got up from the chair, knowing reluctantly that in my current state, I would most likely lose any fight I entered. I just wasn't strong enough. Despite this, the man looked scared. 'Bang.' A loud explosion erupted, knocking the man off his feet and onto the floor as the debris scattered into the room. I jerked upright, eyes wide in surprise – the Avengers really were here then.

I let out a hasty breath as a little bit of the tension slipped away from me. Because I had heard no fight, I had half expected the information given to me to be false, but here was the truth. I hurried around the desk and knelt down by the man to check his pulse. My fingers reached his wrist cautiously, and I waited to feel the steady thump beneath my fingers… but none came. For the first time it had dawned on me, this man was dead.

Dead, such a crude word. I felt a shiver down my spine as I paused stunned, for regardless of who this man was and despite everything I had been through both before and after I became Spiderman, I still reverently believed that it takes a hell of a lot for someone to really deserve death. Of course, that's probably me just being naïve; I'd hate to think of what Natasha would say if she heard me say that. I couldn't help but feel sorry for this man. Whoever these people were, they had put me through hell, but this one man here was probably just following orders. He might even have had a family at home…

Another sharp noise from outside interrupted my thought process. Right, the files. Reluctantly, I pulled the man's phone from his pocket. It was exactly what I had needed. I switched it on, and began calling a phone number that I had long since had ingrained into my mind.

'Calling Now'

In other words, calling Ned. Those files were going to be deleted, and I was going to get out here.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: I do not own the Avengers or Spider-Man.**

 **Hello. A chapter as promised. I am hoping to get this story finished soon and so I am going to make a concerted effort to update more regularly, hopefully, a chapter a week. On a different note, I love reading all your comments and would like to thank everyone who has made one. There are also quite a few of you who has taken the time to write more than one review. Its lovely to know people still want to come back to this story. One review gave suggestions of what I can do. As a reply, not sure the first idea is where I feel this story is heading, but for the second point, all I will say is wait and see!**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

"Ned?" I blurted out as soon as the phone connected on the other end. There was no reply for a moment, just an ominous pause that set my heart racing once more.

"Peter?" It was more of a statement than a welcome, or rather a question that he already knew the answer to. "What the… Where the hell have you been?" he stammered out confused, "Mr Stark said you've been taken by someone. He was worried."

"Yeah, listen Ned," I spoke back before my mind caught up with what he said. Worried? The word sounded strange when spoken in relation to Tony Stark, the man who appeared to be the most laid back, carefree guy you'd ever meet. It was hard to imagine him being worried about anything at all, let alone him being worried about me, the boy who, according to him, was stupid and didn't deserve what he had been given. More to the point, last I heard Tony wasn't even talking to me, he didn't care and was certainly anything but worried.

"He was?" I questioned, before bringing myself back to the here and now. Yet again it wasn't something that really mattered right now. "Forget about that. I need to delete some files of a computer server, only there's a password and I can't get on to any of the computers." I went straight to the issue at hand.

"Right," Ned said overwhelmed by all the information, "Right. I… err… I think it will be easier if you give me remote access to the computer system." He reasoned. "Type this code." He commanded before listing of a stream of various keys to press. My mind was struggling to keep up: I could understand what the commands he was listing was supposed to do but I knew I would never be able to come up with them myself. Like I said before, I built technology and Ned made them work – this was his area of expertise.

"Hold down control and type 2946837/86660 click enter." Ned concluded. As soon as he I finished the command, the screen went black and started making a whirling noise. Then, a loading bar appeared reading just 1% transfer complete. He had done it. As soon as the bar reached 100, Ned would have control. The files would be deleted and then finally, I could get out of here.

"That's it." I ran a hand through my hair, grateful for his help. "Thanks Ned." I muttered, staring as the screen added another couple of percent onto its tally. "I don't know what the files will be called mind…"

"I'll work it out." Ned promised as yet another explosion echoed outside. "Peter what's wrong? What's going on?" Ned turned his attention to the more exciting issue at hand, or at least, somewhat exciting for him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm dealing with it." I replied unwilling to tell him the truth. He would only worry, and it wasn't really the time for it. "Look, I've got to go." I hung up on him without waiting for a reply. It was rude of me - in fact Aunt May would have told me off for doing that if she was here, but the situation called for it.

I sat down on a nearby chair gingerly and letting myself relax, if only slightly. I couldn't wait to get out of here. As soon as it reached 100%, I would head to the Avengers. It wouldn't be that hard to find them: the sounds of fighting made it pretty obvious where they were. I would have to ask them for a lift home, if they didn't mind that is. I still wasn't entirely sure where I stood with them – they might not even have known I was here but hopefully they could at least give me a ride. And once I was back in New York, we would part ways again and they wouldn't have to see me again. The last part was an unwilling thought on my part, but necessary all the same. I would miss them all. They had become a sort of like a family to me, albeit a highly dysfunctional one – Wanda was the fun knowing sister, Clint the annoying big brother, everyone had a role of sorts and though it may sound a little cheesy, it worked. We were all outcasts in one way or another, drawn together by what we can do.

Or maybe family was the wrong word. Maybe it was because we were all alone in the world. Maybe it was because we were all different to the norm of society. Honestly, it was because of the one simple fact that none of us wanted to admit to, that despite there being billions of people on the planet, the only people who would ever be able to truly understand and relate to what we had been through were each other. Nevertheless, they had all made their choice clear. I would leave them the moment we got to New York.

The bar on the computer showed that the transfer was half way complete by now. Ned would soon be able to get rid of those files. It was a matter of minutes. I heard a cry from outside that made me jerk my head up anxiously. I didn't know which side of the fight was outside, but whoever they were, they were right outside the door now. I waited anxiously, my eyes open wide as I struggled to my feet, praying that whoever it was, didn't come in here. I've said it before and I'll say it again now: I wouldn't win any fight I entered today.

Then, there was another cry of alarm as the door opened but a crack. To my horror, it seemed I was out of luck as in came I small number of men, followed by a man who I knew and could recognise very clearly, and that I now knew to hate. Dr Leon had arrived.

He didn't notice I was there at first. The door was slammed shut abruptly and several of the men leaned against it. Almost before they had done this, a huge weight slammed against the door with a load crack from the other side, making it shudder precariously on its hinges and knocking one of the men to the ground. The others stayed as firm as they could, yelling and panting with effort as they pushed the door the other way to try to keep whoever was outside from coming in.

I stood silently, watching the scene unfold before my very eyes. I took a deep shuddering breath in panic, my heart pounding once more for I was all too aware of my current predicament. My injuries became all the more noticeable and my strength ebbed from my body. I was done. I had had enough of all of this: my wrist hurt from when I had tugged away the ropes, my shoulder hurt, everything hurt, and to top it off, I think if I moved too quickly right now I would probably collapse and that wouldn't help anyone. More than anything else, I needed rest. What I didn't need was to be noticed.

But I recognised the man in the group that had led the way into this room. Though he was not currently looking at me, there was no mistaking his face. It was Dr Leon – the man who had been making my life hell. I don't quite know why I didn't move. If I had hidden, I may have gone unnoticed in all of the chaos that was ensuring outside. Instead, I stayed where I was, in direct view, and when he turned around in the slow deliberate way he always moved, he saw me immediately.

He took a moment for him to adjust since he was certainly not expecting to see me here.

"You are supposed to be locked in that room." It wasn't a question, merely an expression of fact.

"Surprise." I muttered unwillingly and with none of the enthusiasm that normally came with that word. Dr Leon narrowed his eyes, inspecting me. His clinical eye no doubt registered everything: how I held myself, where I was hurt was known to him without him even having to try.

"Interesting." He said flatly. "Of course, I can't let you leave here." He stated again, ignoring how the door behind him creaked and yawned as his men put their full weight against it.

"You try and stop me." I said far more confidently than I felt. I took a sideways glance at the screen which now read 80% complete. Dr Leon hadn't noticed it yet. So long as I kept him entertained, it would soon be finished and then Ned would be able to delete those files. No one else would get hurt.

"Hmph." The doctor considered me for a moment, "Well, I think…."

"Got a bit of a security problem have we Doc? I doubt that's good for business is it?" I cut him off quickly. "Mind you what exactly is your business? I never quite got that. Doctors don't normally go around hurting people you know. They normally make them better…"

"I am making them better." He cut me off, tired of my ranting. I didn't blame him, I usually had better comebacks than that. "Super soldiers improve the human body infinitely: people will never die; the armed forces will become so superior that nothing will be able to stop them. In fact, the information we collected from you is almost enough to…"

"To what? Save the world? Create peace across all of humanity? People don't work like that Dr Leon. There is no magic cure to get world peace or to make everyone better."

"Then just what is the Avengers for Peter Parker?" Dr Leon questioned flatly, "Hmm? Once upon a time the Avengers were supposed to be a magic bullet to cure humanity. But then, if you remember, you all fell out. Your powers caused chaos, not stopped it from happening. Control." He stopped for dramatic effect, "Control is the only thing that will allow for peace."

My mind was racing to keep up with Dr Leon's. I was confused. If he really did think the avengers were the problem, then why was he trying to create more super soldiers? And how did that lead to control? But just then, a yell from outside interrupted my thoughts. I didn't hear what they said, nor did I recognise the voice, but the men who were still battling the door looked at one another nervously. In the moment of pause, I glanced at the computer. 90% - only another 10 to go and everyone would be safe.

"But how's super soldiers supposed to achieve that?" I asked incredulously, hoping he wasn't watching me too closely. Only then I understood. "You're not just hoping to replicate the serum, are you?"

"We're improving it." He said with little emotion showing on his face, "I see a future Mr Parker. A very specific future, and you are going to help us get there. Do you…" But before he could get any further, he was cut off, and this time it wasn't by me. The phone was ringing- the one I had taken to call Ned on and this time, there was no covering it up.

I caught my breath, frozen in fear and watching to see Dr Leon's reaction.

"What is this?" For the first time, Dr Leon's face showed more than just a snide expression, "How did you get that phone. What are you doing Parker?" He questioned furiously. I took a step back towards the computer involuntarily.

"N… Nothing." I stammered, running out of ideas. I couldn't stall him any longer, all I could do was hope and pray that the computer would be quicker than he was. Only, Dr Leon was moving swiftly now, spurred on by an anxiety he rarely showed. He strode around to the other side of the desk immediately, blocking my exit. I was against the wall and there was no where else to run to. There were no words to halt him, nothing to stop what he was going to see. I could only stand there, eyes wide in fear as he approached and wishing, more than anything right now, that I could be Spiderman.

He came towering towards me. I glanced at the phone that laid on the desk unnecessarily. It was still ringing with an annoying sound, and though it was much quieter than the sounds of fighting outside, it was all my mind could focus on right now. That and Dr Leon. I didn't dare look at the screen, but even that was unnecessary, because the doctor did. He saw it the same time I did.

98% complete.

Just two percent. Barely anything, and yet if left without those percent incomplete, everyone would be in danger. It wasn't just creating super soldiers anymore; it was so much more than that. If Dr Leon and his group succeeded, free will would be lost. Despite it's flaws, the ability to choose is what makes humanity. To lose that would be to lose everything. And so, with this in mind, I made my choice: I would fight. I wouldn't win, but for just two percent, it would be worth it.

I looked at Dr Leon face on, lunging forward and pummelling into him before he could even touch the keyboard and together we fell to the floor hard. I pulled at his wrists, using any and every strength I could muster to try and pin him to the floor. Dr Leon jerked around, his lack of skill in this area obvious but his determination clear. With a silent grimace, he pulled and twisted, using my own strength against me to yank my wrist backwards. I couldn't help but cry out in pain as the already battered injury was aggravated once more, but I didn't let go. Just two percent, I thought hazily. I could hold on for that long, couldn't I?

Only, when I thought that, I thought it was only Dr Leon. I didn't count on the resourcefulness of the other men who had in that time blocked the door up with any furniture they could find in the room leaving themselves free; and I certainly didn't count on there being more than one entrance to this room. For at that moment, the other leader of the group came in, the man from the alley whom I had affectionately nicknamed, the brawn.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman.**

 **A double update today! I'm going to say my bit at the end of the second one, so for now enjoy.**

There was nothing I could do to stop what would happen next – it was beyond my control. The man I called 'the Brawn' dived towards me instantly, pulling me away from Dr Leon and causing me to fall, once more against my arm. I let out a grunt of pain as I made contact with the ground abruptly. Before I could catch my breath and despite my best efforts to prevent it, the man had immediately pulled me up to my feet roughly, slamming me against the back wall, holding me steady with his vice-like grip. Gone were the days when I would have been able to push him away; I was a just a puppet in this, simply having to be content with whatever misfortune I was presented with. Behind us, Dr Leon was staggering to his feet as he made his way towards the computer. I didn't even what to think about what was going to happen next. It was too late, nothing I had tried to do was going to mean anything now.

I stopped struggling, resigned to the worst. All I could do was watch, incapacitated as I was as Dr Leon stopped the transfer. I had no chance.

"You really don't have to do this Dr Leon. Please. Please. For me. You could walk out of here. Dr Leon?" I tried, talking even faster than I normally do, but Dr Leon didn't even look around. He was furiously typing on the machine, mumbling under his breath as he did so. Then he turned to look at me, his eyes piercingly sharp- If his eyes could, they'd be spitting venom right now, judging by the amount of hatred that was flooding out of them. He shook his head, was it in disbelief?

Had it worked? Had the transfer finished after all?

I wouldn't know. All I knew was that my time was up. I waited with baited breath as Dr Leon stepped up and snapped at one of his men. To my alarm, he was handed a knife almost before he had finished telling them he wanted one for the men were wary of his gaze. The knife looked cold and sharp in his hand, I stared at it, scared for what was going to happen next. This was a turn of events I hadn't predicted.

"I don't like getting my hands dirty." he said in one tone. There was no trace of charm or sarcasm in them this time, "But for you, I'll make and exception," he warned as he knelt down beside me; he was so close that I could smell the waft of peppermints from his breath. I glanced at the man holding me to see if he would budge, but his eyes too instantly told me that he wasn't going to. There was no escaping this.

"Please don't." I whispered, my voice shaking. It didn't help. Dr Leon raised the knife above me as a shiver went through my body. I looked back at my attacker, his eyes were cold and hard without mercy. Then I closed my eyes in fear, not wanting to see the knife draw closer. What would it feel like? Would it be quick? I had no time to think through the answers. I could only hope that things would be easier after this, less painful somehow.

I waited, the seconds felt like forever, each one drawn out over what felt like several though it reality, it was all far too short a time. I wasn't ready for this. But Dr Leon clearly wasn't going to wait until I was - I felt the rush of air fly past me, and then…nothing.

Perhaps I should rephrase, when I say nothing, I didn't mean that that was it, that my life had come to a close and I couldn't feel anything anymore. I meant, that there was nothing to feel. I opened my eyes immediately, looking forward. Where Dr Leon had once towered above me, there was only empty air. His crumpled body was laid on the floor in his place, the knife still in his hands. More importantly perhaps, a single solitary arrow was imbedded in his chest – his eyes were open, though they were not seeing. Dr Leon was dead.

"No." I heard a strangled cry above me as at the same time I was released. I stood up quickly and stepped over Dr Leon's body as it was the sole way to get away from the two of them. It was only when I felt I had sufficient distance such that I was on the complete opposite end of the room and thus was no longer in the surviving leader's reach, that I felt I could take a breath and find out what had happened. I drew my gaze upwards, first noticing Dr Leon's lifeless body and how the other man was crouched over it in despair. Then, as I expanded my gaze, I spotted the only person who could have killed him.

He was still seemingly in the same position, his bow arm raised and already with a new arrow drawn. His eyes were calm and focussed, and yet there was something else hidden within them too that I couldn't identify. He glanced at me once without blinking, his gaze almost immediate returning to that of the threat at hand.

"You alright Peter?" Clint asked. I don't think he was expecting a proper answer – he knew I wasn't.

"Yeah." I said in a small voice. Or at least I was going to be alright. He took another slightly longer glance at me but once again returned to his original position.

"Okay then." He said unsurely, and then he opened fire. His arrows rained down upon any remaining men in the room immediately as they tried to escape. His face was determined, his eyes darting around with precision.

I watched him work: his mastery of his weapon was so great that even before his arrows had reached their intended victim, another arrow was already drawn and was ready to go. It meant that no man in the room ever came anywhere near me. There was certain art about it, a dance if you like – his poise and his grace betrayed the very essence who he really was. Never before had I been so relieved that someone had found me – Dr Leon's eyes were still open, still portraying, as they would forever now, the absolute loathing he had once felt.

I stared at him, somewhat surprised as I didn't feel any emotion towards him; even then, it took me a while to realise what was wrong. In the conflict that had emerged, the sobs of the other man who had once wept over him, had ceased. He was gone. I looked around the room, trying to find out whether Clint had already got him but my searched failed. Where had he gone?

"Wanda?" Clint said, interrupting my thoughts. I returned my gaze to him once more, assuming automatically that that he was talking on comms. As such, it took me aback slightly when I heard a reply.

"I'm here." She said softly whilst at the same time walking over to me as she completely ignored what was happening in the fight behind her. She put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, it felt funny: the lack of pleasant human contact had affected me more than I had thought. She was biting her lip, giving me a small, maybe even nervous smile. Then finally, her front crumpled as she put her arms around me and pulled me close. I didn't resist – I had missed her too. Behind us, I could see that Clint had finally stopped his efforts and was content with just looking over at the two of us. Catching my eye, he gave me a nod in welcome.

"We have to go." Wanda spoke unnecessarily quietly, pulling away from me as she did so though still noticeably not letting go of my hand. I made to follow her, caught up by the moment and wanting to simply let someone else take charge, but something made me hesitate.

"Wait." I said causing them both to turn to look at me. "The computer. The files. I need to check they were deleted." I pulled my hand gently out of Wanda's and hurried over to the computer I was using, trying to see if the download was complete, but I could only see a blank screen.

"Peter, we have to go." Wanda tried again, walking over to me, "The others are waiting. Tony was searching the lower levels for you." I didn't listen, I just tried tapping the keyboard, only getting frustrated when I saw no results.

"I have to…" I trailed off, then I let out a huff of annoyance at progress, "Stupid computer. They took data. I was trying to transfer control to Ned so he can delete it off the server, only I don't know if it finished." I explained hurriedly.

Clint hesitated before replying, "Call him. If it didn't work, then I'll get Tony or Vision to have a look in a minute." He handed me his phone as he said this. I fumbled with it, recalling his number once more whilst the other two left me to it. They moved away slightly perhaps to give me some space but more probably something to do with what they whispered to one another about as they thought I was distracted.

"Ned?" I asked, as soon as the phone stopped ringing. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah. I'm having to practically delete the whole system though." Ned commented as I let out of breath of relief. That was all I needed to know. I had succeeded in my mission and now I could get out of here and rid myself of this place. I relayed the information to the others and hung up on Ned as we walked out of the room. It was time to go home,


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: I do not own the Avengers or Spiderman**

In the time that had been spent dealing with Dr Leon and the files, the other Avengers had apparently made great progress in the clearing out the base that had made my life a misery. Most levels were devoid of any enemy presence now so it was easy for us all to slip through any remaining defences they may have made and go out of the base. Anyone who was left were fleeing, they committed themselves to the harsh desert outside with the hope that it would be better than whatever lay in store for them if they stayed. Dr Leon was dead; they were just his minions and there was no real advantage in pursuing them further. Therefore, it was decided via the comm units that we would meet the others back by the jet that they had arrived on. Unfortunately for us however, that jet was a couple of miles out from the base which meant a short walk was necessary; though in the harsh heat of the desert, anything short still felt endless. My body protested, the adrenaline had well and truly gone now, and I felt as though I would sleep for a hundred years after this. I kept lagging behind the others, and despite Clint's impatience at this, even he understood and sympathised with how I must have felt since he both tried to hide his feelings and slow his pace to match Wanda's and my own.

Needless to say I was grateful when we had arrived at our destination. It felt a little strange at first; I had lived at the Avenger's base for a far longer time than the time that had passed since leaving them, and yet, I still felt alienated from them somewhat. It was like there was some sort of chasm between me and everyone else and I couldn't get to the other side of it.

Natasha was the first one who noticed our arrival – she was sitting with her feet hanging out of the door of the jet as was treating her weapons in a way that would look entirely creepy and sinister if you didn't know her. She looked up from her job with a calculated expression upon her face, frowning slightly as she examined our, or rather my, condition.

"You look fab." she stated sarcastically by way of saying hello. She a slight cut on her forehead where she had taken a hit herself.

"Thanks Nat." I replied just as bluntly. She probably, no definitely, had a point. I hadn't washed for days on end and probably looked pale what with the amount of blood they were taking from me. On top of that, I still had the injuries: my wrist in particular, of which I didn't even want to know the prognosis for. Yeah, all in all, I probably looked quite the sight.

I stumbled over to the jet on my own, helping myself to a seat and slumping in it. The others seemed to keep their distance, but I wasn't oblivious to their secretive glances at one another, nor could I ignore how Clint was pulled away by Steve, only for them to forget about my strengthened hearing as they quite obviously began talking about me. Mind you, I didn't go over to anyone else either: I didn't want to be too friendly when I knew it would only hurt all the more when I had to leave them again.

For a while, I simply watched the proceedings unravel before me. Considering the amount of time we took getting here from the base, I was surprised to find out that not everyone had arrived back yet. I couldn't see either Vision or Tony yet, which was even more strange since they were the only ones currently in the team who could fly. Still, it wouldn't take long, I hope.

The people who were back were all busy sorting themselves out. You'd think after a tiring day at work, we'd be allowed some time off, but no – there were always weapons to be maintained, injuries to be treated (though if we could we always used to wait until we got back to the tower and to Bruce Banner for that one), not to mentioned at least one of us had to stay awake so that we could get home.

I was drifting in my seat, not willing to fall into the temptation of sleep. I can vaguely remember someone handing me a bottle of water, which after the heat of the desert walk and the distinct lack of more than a few drops here and there in the base, was received gratefully. There was no question that I had to have been very dehydrated, so I looked to thank the person who had passed it to me, surprised to find that it was Bruce - judging by his non-descript clothing, he hadn't been needed for the hulk today, but I could tell he was still anxious. He kept looking at me, as though wanting to say something but always putting it off.

I must have dozed off shortly after that. The next thing I knew, the gentle hum of the engine filled the air as the jet rocked from side to side in the breeze. I opened my eyes hesitantly: the bright light blinding me momentarily as it had done in the desert. Surrounding me, the seats of the jet were finally filled with all of the now resting Avengers. Most of them were asleep, but I noticed Steve was still wide awake watching over them like the good leader he was. Mind you, I'm not sure how much longer he will be awake, for even he seemed to be struggling.

I got up to stretch my legs and made my way to the source of the light. We were flying high above the clouds which looked like fluffy white pillows below us. The sun seemed almost brighter than normal: It filled up the room completely and seemed almost as though it had free reign up here compared to before when it was heavy and oppressive. I stood up just beyond the pilot's seat for some time, simply enjoying the uninterrupted view that I had missed.

We could be anywhere in the world right now and I wouldn't care. There was no person to be found in any direction for miles around and apart from the engine that ran softly, there was no noise to be heard either. Back in New York, in the so called 'City that never sleeps', there was always something going on -there was never a minute peace. Here in the sky however, there was our small group, and that was it, no one else. It was a peaceful thought that didn't frighten me, but rather made me excited, though I couldn't quite explain it.

Just then, a noise interrupted my thoughts and made me jump slightly:

"Hi," It said shortly. I jerked around to see the person who had spoken, surprised to find that it was Tony. He was seated in the pilot's seat with his back to the rest of the jet – I must have walked right past him and hadn't noticed he was there. Briefly, I wondered why he hadn't announced himself sooner.

"Hi," I replied back, not quite knowing what I should be saying. There was a long pregnant pause between us, in which time I turned back to look at the view, biting my lip slightly with nerves. I fidgeted with my hands, wondering what to do next. I wasn't ready to face Tony yet – I had nothing to say to him. And yet, there was so much I wanted to ask him – we left a lot unsaid before. My chance to speak to him alone was now, only I couldn't find the words.

Tony found them for me. "It's something isn't it." He said, jerking his head toward the view, "I remember when I was captured. It's the first thing you notice. You'd don't really appreciate it until its gone. Kind of an enigma or, err." He paused for a moment, tilting his head and frowning before continuing. "You know what, I'm just going to stop now. I'm talking, like way too much, and I know what you're thinking because I'm thinking it too – I'm acting like you, so I'm just going to shut up now."

With this I gave a small, almost melancholy smile. I couldn't help it, he kind of was acting like I normally do when I'm nervous. If only it could stay like this, all our problems would be solved. Then, I thought of what to ask first and the smile instantly wiped itself away from my face.

"How long was I gone?" I wondered, my back still facing away from Tony so he couldn't see my face. Tony seemed to sense the shift in mood, because he immediately became more serious, and when he answered, I knew there was no joking around.

"A little over a week. Today's Wednesday the 15th" It was just a week and a few days. When I was in the base, it would sometimes feel like I had been in there for months, other times, it would feel as though it had been merely hours. There had been no way of telling.

"Right." I murmured, feeling somewhat estranged from my emotions.

"You won't be going away again will you?" Tony asked suddenly. I hesitated, wondering what he saying. The knowledge that he didn't want me around had haunted me ever since I had left them – it was all I had thought about for so long. Not noticing my discomfort, Tony continued.

"I mean, I was thinking perhaps maybe you'd like to come and help me in my lab sometime. Perhaps we could work on that spider drone of yours, upgrade it somehow. Or we could do something else if you'd rather. I don't know about specifics, but we could do something." When he spoke, at first it seemed really fast, as though he couldn't get words out quick enough, and yet he trailed off at the end, emphasising the last word more than normal. Again, it was exactly like how I acted, perhaps Tony was nervous like me. Did he even get nervous?

"That's a stupid idea isn't it." He said once I didn't reply, "You know what, never mind. We'll think of something else. I'm just…ugh, I'm so bad at this." He complained to himself angrily and more quietly. It was so unlike Tony. Then, the truth about what he was saying finally hit me:

"You want me to stay?" I questioned, confused.

"Yeah." Tony nodded his head sincerely, "Yeah I do."

"Why?" I asked. I really didn't understand. It felt like such genuine anger when we had argued, something must have changed since then for him to have such a turnaround. Besides, I was just a nobody, literally the least cool person at school, kind of confirmed by the fact I can count the number of friends I have on one hand. I hadn't even had a proper conversation with any of them either for months – In other words, I wasn't oblivious to the fact that I was a loner.

"Why. Because you're Spiderman." Tony said incredulously, "You can do anything you want to, in fact you are pretty much the definition of a scientific anomaly. You have webs that don't even obey the laws of physics and you have a pretty cool suit to match. You're a good guy to have around Pete."

I let out a quiet huff in disbelief, "Spiderman wasn't much good today though, was he." I spoke dismissively.

"I wouldn't say that." I turned to look at him, not believing what he was saying at all. I hadn't done anything useful – even deleting the data was all Ned. I was the one who was weak, who had got myself in that position in the first place. No-one else would have been caught that night, it could only have been me.

Tony opened his mouth as if to speak further only I didn't really want to hear it right now. I knew what had happened was my fault, and nothing was going to help change that. To my relief however, before either of us could speak our minds, we were interrupted.

Steve had come to join us. He was quite awake now, perhaps interrupted in his semi slumber by our voices, and apart from a nice purplish bruise that was developing near his face, he looked pretty much the same as ever having rid of any sign of tiredness already. He looked over me, concerned, before moving on to Tony and the matter at hand:

"Tony?" he said, feeling sorry for having stopped their conversation short when he knew the importance of them having one. "We're in trouble."

Tony stood to attention, alarmed by this for as far as he was aware, they were in the clear now. His question was written plain on his face so he didn't bother asking it.

"We didn't tell Cross what we were doing." Steve admitted hesitantly. With this information, Tony swore in recognition. The three of them looked at one another seriously – they had all broken the accords without even realising it. They'd all be locked up for this, would literally return to the same situation they had been in after the Civil War. It was a disaster.

Then in spite of everything that had happened, and all the political drama that was going to have to be dealt with, the three of them simultaneously laughed.

You see, how on earth were government going to lock up every single Avenger currently on earth. The accords were flawed from the start, and this just proved it. They had all broken it now, and more importantly, they had broken it together.

 **AN: Hey! Wow, those two chapter seemed to take an age to write. As a quick heads up as to what will happen next, I'm hoping to round off this story in the next few (maybe 2 or 3) chapters. There are still a few loose ends to tie up, most importantly the conversation between Tony and Peter. It will be coming! For now though, enjoy the rest of you weekend and thank you for reading.**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: I do not own the Avengers or Spiderman.**

 **Wow, another chapter already. I think I must have caught the writing bug today.**

 **I wanted to make a reply to one of my regular reviewers, TeamCaptain2016. Firstly, thank you very much for all your reviews. I've noticed that you have been reading this story for a long time, so I am very glad that you have been enjoying it and that you have stuck with it! I found your comment about Tony being perhaps less emotional than you expected in the last chapter to be really interesting. One of the reason I starting this story was so that I can experiment with writing in first person for future stories. I wonder whether that fact might have made Tony feel less emotional than normal - everything he felt had to be shown only through actions and words unlike Peter's feelings with which there is free reign. I see Tony as quite an internal person, so this was quite difficult to find the balance on. Its definitely something I will have to take into account when writing my own originals. Thank you for bringing it up. I added a conversation towards to end of this chapter to show his feelings further. Enjoy!**

Things were looking up. I can't say they were completely better yet mind, but then again, there's never been any moment in my life where everything was perfect all at once. My wrist was still very, very sore. I had been right to think I had broken it - in fact Bruce said I had pretty much messed it up completely and that I would have been in deep trouble if I was an ordinary person:

"If I was normal, I wouldn't have been there in the first place so…" I trailed off as I reminded him of this fact. Examining it had been more or less the first thing that we did when the jet had landed back at base. I thought I had hidden the fact that I had hurt it quite well, but apparently not as well as I thought seeing that no-one was surprised by the diagnosis. To my annoyance, Bruce had already insisted that I had to wear a guard to protect it: no matter how much I would dissuade him on the basis that it would heal soon enough with my powers, I knew I wouldn't win, especially considering the firm, unyielding expressions on absolutely everyone else's faces who despite our differences, were not afraid to stand their ground of this one. Perhaps they had noticed the marks where the ropes had laid into them which were still visible - the constant reminder of what had happened must only made them more concerned.

By this point, Steve was dealing with the fallout from the broken accords. I didn't envy him – General Cross had been waiting on the ground for our arrival: he looked furious and had whisked Steve away before we even knew what was happening. He had wanted Tony too, but he wasn't going to let himself be taken anywhere. The truth was that Tony hadn't left my side since we had arrived.

Tony. We still hadn't managed to have that conversation. Most of the time, I avoided his gaze – he was acting so unlike himself, latching on to me like some sort of lost puppy and shouting at anyone who tried to talk to me. It was a little much actually, for once I could sympathise with how Happy must have felt when I had hounded him with text messages.

Honestly though, I'd have appreciated some company if I hadn't felt so awkward with the situation: I had nothing to say to Tony at all. He told me that he didn't care about me - If this was his way of making amends after everything that had happened, it was the wrong way to go about it. Feeling guilty wasn't going to change how he thought inside. It was just a front, a falsehood that would only last so long. No, I had to forget about Tony. He didn't matter to me.

That's what I tried to tell myself anyway. Except he did matter. His thoughts meant probably too much to me. I just wished he would just say his mind straight out in the open like he did with everything else, then at least I would know where I stood, and I wouldn't be waiting in this limbo for someone to make a move and talk.

There wasn't much of the day left after all this, but what there was seemed to drag on forever what with everyone's fussing around – they were never normally like this. Normally they just left me to do whatever I wanted on my own but today was different: Clint made sure we played at least 3 games on the TV, saying he had missed his gaming buddy despite the fact that we had only ever played just a few games before everything had happened. Wanda, unfortunately with Vision helping, a recipe for disaster, made me my favourite meal for tea which I had devoured seeing as it was my first proper food for days on end. I even caught Natasha breaking into my old room (how I managed to notice her I don't know), and though she wouldn't tell me what she was doing, Friday later warned me that my door and window was set up to give an unwelcome surprise to anyone who wasn't supposed to me there.

I suppose they were only trying to make me feel welcome again. They had already made me promise that I would stay the night so I guess I should be grateful that it showed that someone cared. Tony didn't.

Only everything changed that night. I guess, I started to realise it just as I was going to bed. A few minutes prior, Tony was persuaded to finally leave my side, though he did so grudgingly. The reason was that Steve had only just returned from the talks he had been required to sit through, and though he'd rather not, he knew he had to catch up on what was going on. I excused myself quickly after that, with the knowledge that if I left now, I might finally be able to slip away before Tony realised what was happening.

I was rounding the first corner when I came upon them. They were talking in hushed voices, though with my hearing it was no real challenge to understand them. At first, it was literally just about the accords as expected. General Cross really wasn't happy, something about a board meeting we all had to go to, and so on. I would have quite easily left them if they weren't inadvertently blocking my path onwards and if I wasn't trying to avoid them. In fact, I was just about to turn around and go to the room a different way when Steve asked something that made me stop in my tracks.

"How's he holding up?" Did I mention the fact that I'm not normally an eavesdropper, but you try walking away when you hear someone is talking about you.

"Yeah. Think he'll be ok eventually." Tony replied hesitantly. Then after a moments thought he continued. "He's putting up a brave face." Was I? I hadn't realised I was, but then again, I had wanted to curl up in a ball all afternoon and I forced myself not to – was that what he meant?"

"It's understandable." Steve replied, acknowledging the information. Then he asked another question even more tentatively, "How about you?"

"Me?" Tony replied incredulously, "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be." Steve gave him a look which said only too plainly what he thought. "I don't know what to say to him." Tony continued honestly, "I said so much before, and now… I never expected this to happen."

"None of us did." Steve reassured him as Tony quietened down at the end.

"That doesn't change what I said. He should never have been out on the streets that night. That was on me." He said honestly. "When we got him back I…," Tony broke off suddenly

I stood, dumbfounded. Thoughts were running through my head so quickly that I couldn't decide which one to settle on. One part of me felt angry at him: I didn't know whether he was just feeling guilty about what happened to me, rather than feeling guilty about what he said. Nor did understand why he was trying to put the blame on himself. There was no question that if I had been a bit cleverer then the entire problem wouldn't have occurred, I just wouldn't have been captured. Or maybe I was wrong about him… maybe he did regret the words he said after all.

But even if he regretted them, it doesn't mean to say they weren't true. With this thought, I moved quickly from the area, knowing that I had to get away from them before they said anything else and confuse the issue further.

I went back the different way to my room to settle down for the night. My mind was whirling, trying to focus on every little detail and make it into something bigger and more problematic. Bruce knocked on the door at one point with an IV in hand – he said I needed to make up some of the blood that I had lost, only the cord was in an awkward position and only reminded me of things that I'd rather not think about. I desperately needed the sleep, but the night that followed was restless and uneasy.


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: I do not own the Avengers or Spiderman**

 **Author Note at the end - enjoy the chapter!**

I couldn't sleep. You'd think, that after everything, I would be able to simply fall into it with little to no effort at all, but unfortunately, things didn't seem to work quite like that. I was just drifting, semi awake but every time I tried falling deeper, horrible images would cast itself into my mind and would jerk me back to reality. There was no escaping it and eventually, I'm sorry to say that I just gave up with the whole idea altogether.

I pulled the IV out gently and left my room, lost in far too many thoughts to focus on exactly where I was heading. Before I knew it, I was outside Tony's lab with one hand on the door ready to enter. It was only then that I came to my senses – What was I doing? I couldn't just go barging in: Tony worked all hours and he didn't want to see me, remember.

Or did he? That conversation when we were on the jet didn't really clear the air between us, it just left me with far too many questions and not enough answers. In any case, regardless of how I currently stood with him, I really didn't want to have to meet him and bring it up again tonight - tonight I just wanted to be alone.

"Is Tony in there?" I asked Friday hesitantly. The answer was a negative, so with a second reassurance that Friday would inform me if he did decide to come, I opened the door, ignoring how awkward it was to turn the handle with the brace that was still on my hand. I stumbled inside, looking around blankly. It was exactly as it had been before I left – messy desks cluttered with various circuit boards, wires and other pieces of metal which looked as if one day they had probably fitted together. Half-drunken coffee and tea mugs left circular rings on the surfaces and in the corner, one of Tony's hoodies laid in an untidy heap. Dummy was in the corner; he raised his head slightly upon my arrival and cocked it to one side in confusion. The computers were blank, shut down and devoid of life for the night.

Now that I was here, I didn't really know what to do next. The moonlight cast a bright glow bathing the room in a small light that allowed me to see but wasn't enough to change the desolate atmosphere of the room. I stumbled over to the window, ignoring the nearby armchair as I sat down on the floor, once more drawn by how beautiful the night sky looked. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at it as I used to again – it meant so much more now.

What happened? I wondered. Why were the Avengers at that facility? No-one had told me anything – they were all keen on avoiding the topic as much as possible, not even acting like themselves in an attempt to make me happy. All it did was make me wish more than anything that everything would become normal again. I wasn't broken by what had happened, so they didn't need to tiptoe around me. It would be easier if I just left again – wouldn't it?

"You should be in bed." I jerked around to face the noise, surprised to find that Tony was in the room.

"Sorry," I said, making to get up and leave the room, but Tony just shrugged me off, he too avoided the chair and instead sat down beside me. It looked a bit strange to see him sitting on the floor – that was something kids did, not adults.

"I told Friday to tell me when you were coming." I muttered, embarrassed for him having found me in here.

"Apologies Mr Parker." Friday replied instantly, completely disregarding any attempt I had made to keep that quiet, "My primary orders come from my creator, Mr Stark. He asked me to inform him of your whereabouts at all times." There was no guilt as she revealed this information.

"You've been spying on me," I said indignantly, whilst at the same time, Tony stated sarcastically:

"Thanks Friday." There was a brief pause in the conversation whilst I waited for some sort of explanation. In this time, Tony, maybe irrelevant to my unspoken question or maybe he realised it and was just ignoring it, instead pulled out something small from his pocket and began to toss it around gently.

Seeing that I wasn't going to get a reply any time soon, I turned back to the window, annoyed by how distracting Tony was being. What happened to wanting to be alone? It took a while for my brain to catch up with what I had seen, but when it did, I jerked around suddenly, the words taking a while to formulate.

"Is that my phone?" I questioned, finally realising what the object Tony was playing with was. Tony caught the object one more, freezing slightly as though he had only just noticed what he was doing. I took another look at the object: it was indeed my phone, though it now sported several cracks in the screen which weren't there before.

"Err… yeah." Tony said slowly, "I err… was keeping it safe for you." He cleared his throat distractingly, but still didn't relinquish his hold on the device

"I had it on me the alley." I stated once more, my brain still catching up.

"Did you? Well how about that?"

"If I may Sir. Mr Rodgers found the phone when they were out searching for you. Mr Stark has had it on his person ever since." Friday revealed. There wasn't an ounce of guilt in his words, only a slightly mischievous tone.

"Geez." Tony exclaimed immediately, "Come on Friday. Did you really have to say that?" he seemed frustrated, "Remind me to have a look at your wiring."

"I'll make a note in your Calendar." Though I heard Friday say this, my mind wasn't concentrating on it at all. The Avengers had been looking for me? I had never before ascertained whether they had been at the base for me or for something else and I just happened to be there as a by the way, but here was the proof. It was as I hoped – they really had come for me.

The facts were in front of me, clear as anything now and I wish I could say that I believed them. That would mean it would all be over, and we could go back to the way things had been. Except things didn't seem right just yet – I couldn't believe things just like that, no matter how much I wanted to.

"You were looking." I stated quietly, trying to let myself to comprehend the fact.

"Of course we were looking." Tony scoffed, "We weren't about to just leave you there." Once again I didn't say anything. It was a bit of a change – as Spiderman, it was getting me to be quiet that was the problem and though I had always been much quieter and reserved as Peter Parker, saying nothing was still different. Tony found some words for me:

"Look, I'm terrible at this." He admitted his downfall in a way that was so totally un-Tony like, "What can I say, I'm impetuous – my mouth is much faster than my brain, it always has been. I didn't mean what I said, and I'm sorry for saying it." To put this in perspective, I had to remind myself of the well-known fact that Tony never apologies for anything. Full Stop. Sure, if you're lucky and get him to feel really guilty (or if you're Miss Potts if the papers are anything to go by) you might get some sort of half-apology, but he'd never actually say the words.

Perhaps that's what made this statement mean so much more than the words itself.

"Do you think…" Tony hesitated nervously, "Do you think you'd be able to forgive me." He was looking straight at me without blinking and though I was no spy, I knew automatically that he was telling the truth about everything. I swallowed anxiously wondering how on earth I was going to answer this.

"I want to." I eventually said, knowing the truth at last. Tony seemed a little crestfallen at this; he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted straight away but he quickly seemed to recover.

"Then I guess I'll just have to show you."

We sat in silence for a while, neither of us wanting to break the small truce between us – I couldn't completely forgive Tony, not straight away and it would be wrong for anyone to expect me to, but it was never his fault what happened afterwards – no-one could have envisaged that I would get captured and all hell would break loose. That wasn't on him. Tony too seemed quieter than normal. I didn't say anything, but I noticed he was still playing with my phone, having made no indication that it was time to return it. Somehow, I didn't care: It seemed such an insignificant thing and right now, I was quite happy without any distractions.

Perhaps it was inevitable that I would fall asleep in such a silence – the next thing I was aware of was waking up and finding myself leaning against the window ledge, a blanket having been draped across me. I looked around blearily, the view outside instantly telling me by the way the sun was poking up behind the trees, that morning had arrived, albeit very early morning. I shifted slightly, my body aching having stayed in such an awkward position for so long. It was only when I rubbed my eyes sleepily causing me to eye the guard on my wrist that I remembered what had happened last light.

"Morning," Tony mentioned. Looking around, I could see him sitting at a desk a little way away, a computer screen in front of him. After giving me a quick once over, he turned back and started typing once more.

"What you up to?" I questioned, expecting some spiel about the business. Truth be told, I was kind of going against an unspoken rule in the Avenger's base of never asking what Tony is doing. There was only three responses you would ever get: being ignored, a vague annoying semi-answer that told you nothing, or if he was in the right mood, you would get you ear talked off with extremely complex explanations that he would only say because he knew you wouldn't understand it, or in Bruce's case, because he knew he probably would and he wanted advice. Occasionally, I would get a half-decent answer, but normally it was just best not to ask at all.

Tony glanced at me again before reply,

"Just some Stark Industries stuff that Pepper asked me to look at." I looked over his shoulder, forgetting about how nosy it was until Tony quickly flicked the screen off from whatever he was looking at.

"Pepper?" I repeated.

"Yeah, my CEO." He said hesitantly,

"And a bit more, according to the papers anyway." I said, a small smile on my face as I probed for information.

"Nope, just my CEO." Tony said, picking up his coffee and taking a long sip that delayed the conversation. When I didn't speak, sighed and continued, "We split up kid, it happens." He said trying not to make a thing of it.

"No-way." I couldn't help but exclaim, tactlessly. Then, remembering my manners (Aunt May would have been shocked at me,) I apologised. "S…Sorry." I stammered, "That was stupid of me, it's none of my business. I was just…. Nope. Shut up Peter." To my surprise, Tony laughed at this.

"There's the Peter I remember." He smiled happily, shaking his head slightly. It was true that that was probably a record for the most words I've spoken and at the fastest rate for a long time, something that Tony apparently, had missed. Even though my teenage curiosity really wanted to know why they had split, I forced myself to turn away – I needed to change, maybe ask Bruce whether I could take the guard off though I doubt he'd let me just yet.

As I did so, Tony caught me off guard:  
"Pep wanted kids." He muttered so quietly that if it wasn't for my enhanced hearing, I wouldn't have heard him at all. I hesitated, surprised that he would tell me. Tony was avoiding my gaze, "Pep wanted kids, but I didn't." he repeated a little louder, hoping he sounded offhanded. Wow, he really was going to tell me – Tony never told anyone things like this.

"Why not?" I probed gently,

"I don't know, I wouldn't make a good dad." He said, a funny tone in his voice which I couldn't identify, "I mucked up with you big time, didn't I?" he tried to make it sound as though it didn't matter to him, but I could tell it did by the way he was looking down. He tried to distract himself by picking up some sort of machinery from a nearby desk and a screwdriver to play with.

"I think you'd make a pretty cool dad." I replied honestly, not doubting my words for a moment. Then with a hesitation I continued, wondering how to phrase what I was going to say next – it wasn't right that he treated me like he did – that had already been established on both sides, but to put off kids because of a mistake? That wasn't right either.

"I meant it when I said you weren't my father Tony." The man in question looked up, us both remembering the time when in our anger we said things we mostly didn't mean, except I did mean this - "My father died when I was just a kid. I've grown up learning how to live without one. I think you've been trying to fill that gap, and it didn't work, because it couldn't." I explained honestly,

"You don't have to be that for me Tony. That's where things went wrong. Look I'm an Avenger now and that means danger, fighting… well I guess I don't have to tell you." I muttered as an afterthought, "But I don't think any good father could ever see their child do the things Avengers do. I still don't think you should have said what you did say, but maybe the fact that you reacted to what I did at all is a sign that you'd be a good father, it just wouldn't work with me. Don't ruin what might be just because of what happened."

Tony didn't reply for a while, he just kept looking at me in the corner of his eye. Then tossing the screwdriver into the air and catching it again, he spoke:

"Yeah, I don't know kid."

"Just talk to Miss Potts." I said earnestly,

"Miss Potts? Seriously?" Tony replied, grateful for having found something to change the topic with, "She's going to love that one." I looked down bashfully, rubbing the back of my neck and unsure what to say – I wasn't Tony, I couldn't exactly walk up to her and call her by her nickname without ever meeting her could I? Besides anything else, she was like the CEO of Stark Industries – that's kind of a big thing.

"Hey Tony?" Sam Wilson called into the room without warning, causing us both to jerk away and for Tony to clear his throat, perhaps as an attempt to bring about some composure, "Nat reckons she's found a lead on the Leon bloke" He said. I frowned slightly, clearly having been kept out of the loop - Dr Leon was dead – that whole story was over.

"A lead?" I questioned, wondering what was happening. At the same time, Sam actually came into the room. Apparently, by his shocked expression, he hadn't been expecting that I'd be down here with Tony, for he then swore:

"Oh hell, didn't know you'd be in here." They were keeping something from me.

 **AN: Hi guys. That was a long chapter! I estimate that there is one more chapter after this to go and then an epilogue. (though if you've read all my notes you'll know that I've said that one before) Hope you enjoyed this chapter - it was a difficult one to write and to keep in character. I wanted to introduce a bit more of a reason as to why Tony acted the way he did - I don't see him as a bad character, just a rash one. I've been focussing on the relationships between Tony and Peter throughout the story, and I'm not sure how popular my interpretation will be, but personally I don't really believe that Tony can take the role of a father for reasons stated in the chapter. I think of him more as an Uncle. What do you guys think?**


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: I do not own the Avengers nor Spiderman**

 **Hi. Sorry for the wait, here is the next chapter.**

 **A Response** **to itsuki24 who pointed out that the age of Peter given in chapter 3 is not correct and was wondering if it was on purpose. It absolutely, 100% was on purpose... or maybe it wasn't. Thanks for pointing it out! I have now tried to correct it, but for some reason I can't get it to work since it is no longer on my doc manager. Since it doesn't really affect the plot, I think I will just leave it as it but it was a very good spot!**

 **I always love hearing your reviews. It was interesting to hear what you thought of the last chapter - there was quite a mixture of ideas. Keep them coming and enjoy the chapter!**

"Nat found him on some CCTV, a little way out from the base. We were able to follow him from there." Followed him? Followed who? Tony and Sam strode off well ahead of me, and though I trailed after them curiously, their line of conversation was not one that I couldn't keep up with. I glanced between then, trying not to be annoyed by how they were once again ignoring me – I don't think they meant it this time. I was just fed up with being out of the loop with such things. It's like I am permanently two paces behind everyone else for whatever reason.

"Yeah, where did he go." Tony asked bluntly as they entered the meeting room that was the focus for all group discussions. Despite the early hour, to my surprise most of the Avengers seemed to be present and were ready to start, but before Sam could answer Tony's question, I spoke up.

"Where did who go? What are you investigating?" Everyone looked up as I said those words, Tony looked vaguely surprised that I was here, which didn't really make sense since I was with him before.

"I thought we were…." Steve began to say but trailed off quizzedly.

"Yeah well, I wasn't expecting him to be there was I?" Sam mumbled in reply, shaking his head.

"Yeah, that didn't really answer my question." I was done joking around. I thought this had all finished, that they understood now. But they were still avoiding me – I wasn't a child anymore.

"Come on. This…. This isn't on." I said softly, not meeting anyone in their eye, "You invited me on this team, and I want to be a part of it, but at the end of the day I'm either an Avenger, or I'm not. And if I am one, then you treat me just like everyone else. If I mess up, that's on me, and that's the end of it. You don't keep secrets, you don't…" I stopped suddenly, frustrated though my voice wasn't raised at all. "If you don't want me on this team then just let me know." I finished quietly, looking down at my feet.

There was a short pause of silence, which if I wanted I would have read in to a lot more than I did. Eventually Steve spoke, making the decision for the team.

"We've been tracking down Leon, he wasn't there when the clean-up team arrived." At my puzzled expression, he continued, "Not Dr Leon, we mean his brother, Charles Leon, the one who took you from the alleyway." The Brawn. My mind immediately turned to the memory of a man pinning me to the ground, mocking me as Dr Leon did his work.

"I didn't realise they were brothers," I spoke in a small voice, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah well, he was also the man you spotted on that mission." Steve admitted humbly, rubbing the back of his neck, "We didn't tell you because, we thought it would be better if you moved on. Its barely been 24 hours."

I ignored this, in favour on continuing the conversation, "So what have you found out?"

"We did a face trace, spotted him on CCTV at a pub in the nearest community." Natasha declared, flicking a button which caused a grainy image to flicker up on a large screen that laid at the head of the table. Despite the poor quality, I could recognise one man instantly as Charles Leon. Squinting, though my enhanced eyesight really didn't require me to do so, I spotted a second man talking to him. His back was to the camera, so his face and identity was hidden, but though he never looked at Leon, it was quite clear once pointed out that the two were talking rapidly to one another. That meant that whoever this man was, he was part of all of this.

"The CCTV is so patchy in those parts, we lost them both as soon as they left there." Natasha said, looking down uncharacteristically as though this was her fault somehow.

"You recognise him?" Bruce asked me half-hearted but before he had even finished, I was shaking my head as a negative. I had nothing. He could be anyone. Seemingly unperturbed, the other Avengers began talking amongst themselves about what they could do next, given these new circumstances, and though I tried to listen in attentively, my mind drifted and soon became fixated at the image that was left on the screen.

There was someone else involved. Someone who wasn't one of the Leon brothers. He could be anyone at all. For me, that was the biggest problem of all, bigger than the fact that Leon was out there - I knew what Charles Leon looked like and that meant I could protect others from him, I could protect myself, but what hope is there to stop a man you can't spot?

It was as Clint was debating whether he could contact some man, something about a Fury maybe, whom they all apparently knew, when I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. My enhanced hearing alerted me before everyone else, so I stood up upon General Cross' arrival. He walked into the room, hesitating slightly as he saw what we were looking at before recollecting what he came for:

"The committee have decided they want you to go on a mission immediately. Full briefing packets are on the quinjet." He informed them. Steve took a cursory glance up,

"Ok," he said simply, his eyes immediately returning to some papers on the table in front of him. Cross lingered slightly, wanting to say more, but before he could, Steve noticed this and continued slightly annoyed, "We'll be there in a few."

I returned my gaze to the front of the room, noticing how Wanda's eyes hovered for a while after Cross left; when she was satisfied that he was indeed out of earshot, she turned around to face the rest of the team:

"And is that it?" she questioned, "That's the final piece to the puzzle."

"There are many pieces not yet in place." Vision replied immediately, "It is likely that he is simply the key to the solution. Logically, finding him would be our best next move." As always with Vision, there was no hesitation in his voice, nothing to suggest that he could in fact be wrong. It gave a sense of certainty and made me gravitate to his way of thinking – finding that man could indeed solve everything.

"Things aren't making sense. There's too many loose ends." Tony re-iterated what all our concerns were about. Then, in a moment of frustration, he slammed his hand down onto the table, albeit with not much force behind it.

"How did they find him? There's billions of dollars of equipment in this tower and yet it was nothing more than chance that Steve found Peter's phone. And yet, the equipment at that base was trash - If I couldn't find them on best money can by then no way should they be able to find him with that rubbish." Tony voiced his anger, "There has to be something we are missing." He wasn't trying to boast – he was simply stating the facts as they were. I hadn't thought about it before, maybe I was even trying to ignore it, but this whole debacle had holes in each and none of us could be satisfied until they were answered.

"Do you know why they even wanted you." Clint asked me directly, "I mean, was it the supersoldier serum?" It seemed like ages ago when we had discussed that possibility – I had almost forgotten that though I knew it was true, they were still none the wiser about why they had taken me.

"Yeah, it was. I think… I think they thought I had a serum like Cap's that they could use." I spoke up, before dismissing their programme, "I mean, it's a completely ridiculous idea, don't even know why they thought it. I only deleted their data because I didn't think it was the best idea that people like them should keep it."

"You mean it wasn't from a serum?" Tony asked incredulously. I shook my head slowly, wondering how this had never come up before. "Man, I just assumed that it was, that's what I put on your file anyway."

"I have a file?" I questioned, being cut off quickly, this time by Steve

"That's not the point. The point is….

"Wait." Tony interrupted him, none of us finishing our sentences, "How are you Spiderman then? I kinda really want to know now." Before I could reply, or Steve could complain further, Natasha cut in;

"Contact Fury. See where that gets us." It was a decisive answer, and though Steve was supposed to be our leader, even he wouldn't dare dispute her idea. "We should go on that mission before Cross gets his knickers in a twist." She finished, already halfway out of the room. I watched as most of the others exchanged bemused glances; Clint seemed quite used to her approach for he was the first to follow her.

A few minutes later, we were out onto the roof where the quinjet was parked. It looked as majestic as ever, a quiet silhouette against the great sky behind, ready to take passengers across the world. As much as I wanted to join them, I wasn't fool enough to believe that they'd let me come on the mission – hell, Bruce hadn't even let me out of the wrist brace yet and I'd already had a strict talking to yesterday about patrolling, but I'd wave them off all the same. General Cross was waiting for us up there, he rubbed his shoulders in an attempt to keep warm as the wind whipped past us – it was a far cry from what it had been like in the desert, that was for sure.

"About time." He all but snarled grumpily as the Avengers boarded the jet. Despite not stepping onboard myself, he still had to make a snide comment when he saw me – "Wait, he's not coming."

"Nice to feel wanted." I muttered to myself, crossing my arms and trying to ignore his spite.

"The Committee don't want you." He retorted, walking out of the jet and charging towards me, the cold now apparently forgotten.

"Yeah I know. I was just coming to wave them off." I explained, trying not to sound exasperated. Why did this man dislike me? Every time I saw him he seemed to save a special snipe just for me, and I was getting sick of it. Sure, he didn't have to like me if he didn't want to, but this was just too much. He was supposed to be the head of the committee and be completely impartial, but in reality that was just a joke.

Or maybe it's just me being too harsh. Lately, I found myself feeling anger towards everyone – I was tired of being treated like a kid, tired of everything changing around me and not having any control. All that time spent wanting to be an Avenger, and right now, I'd do anything to be back with Aunt May in our modest apartment in Queens. That was what I was lacking; normality.

Except I couldn't go back to how things were. It's like in Chemistry, you get reversible and irreversible reactions – sometimes you can just rewind the clock: talk through and argument and everything would be fine; you can move house, decide you don't like it and then go back. If only this could be that simple. I just wanted to go home.

I looked up at my friends – the Avengers were strapping themselves into the jet with Clint, apparently being the designated driver this time around, doing his usual pre-flight checks. Steve was speaking to General Cross, and though the former was trying to be amicable, I could tell that even he was getting frustrated. The later caught my eye, a glint showing which meant something I couldn't yet place.

Then, the pieces of that jigsaw suddenly and irrevocably fell into place.

I blinked as the realisation dawned on me – was I right? I wasn't 100% sure, but maybe….

You see, there had only ever been one man with complete access to our files – sure the world would have pieced together most of it, but the fact that Leon was so sure that I had a serum, maybe that hadn't just been a wild stab in the dark, not if someone had read my file.

That same man had complete access to our base through the use of Friday. He would have known exactly when I had left the base the night I ran away, and it was hardly a difficult assumption that from there I would head for Queen's first and to the flat. Thinking back, the road had been closed that day – it would have been a perfect excuse for someone to be able to hang around there and then follow me when I arrived. Perhaps the CCTV couldn't follow me, but a person could if they knew where I was and was at the right time and place to catch me.

And there was only one man who had full disclosure about our missions before we went out on them. It seemed like ages ago when we were on that mission which all went wrong, but despite that, I clearly remember thinking that it had been a bit of a coincidence that the only one road which was put on the plan to be left unguarded due to lack of numbers just happened to be the one which Leon went down. General Cross didn't want me to go on that mission; what if that had been a ploy simply to make sure that I was placed on that lane? What if everything hadn't been just a coincidence?

It could be that I was grasping at straws, but even if I was, was it really a sensible idea for every Avenger to leave base right now, except the one whom these people really wanted to get hold of? I'd much rather say something now than wait for it to be too late. General Cross hated me, it was time to find out just why.

"Wait." I called out suddenly just as the Avengers were about to depart. They looked over at me fondly with Steve, who had yet to take him seat, walking out towards me.

"You alright son?" he said, a hand placed upon my shoulder. I looked up at Steve's eye, and then past him towards where General Cross stood watching us.

"I think…" I started to say, "I think it's him." I nodded at Cross, hoping I was speaking quietly enough so that he couldn't hear. Judging by his jerk of the head, I would think not. "He knows everything about us, he knows what we are doing, whenever we do it." I tried to look away from Cross, hoping Steve would understand my thought process without much input from me. At first, Steve's face was stony - he gave nothing away as he thought about this new information. Then, coming to his conclusion, he looked around to face General Cross, his eyes icy and firm.

Cross immediately got the gist: if there were any doubt before, there certainly wasn't any after his reaction. The best thing that he could have done in such a situation is to plead ignorance – there was certainly more than enough doubt so that if he told his story well, he might have been believed. Instead, he panicked. In a moment of foolhardiness, he lunged forward straight towards. I don't really know what he hoped to achieve by this – he was certainly not a fighter of any sort, but regardless, his sudden action was enough to make me step back nervously.

Steve didn't react to this at all, nor did he move from his position in front of me. Instead, it was the other Avengers who pulled him away, Clint forcing his arms behind him, none too gently in a vice like grip. Tony moved over in front of me and for once, I was glad that they were being so protective - I could handle myself sure, but them being there just made me a lot more comfortable.

"Who the hell are you?" Tony snarled at him

"You were trying to send us away weren't you. What would have happened if we had left Peter here?" Someone else shouted angrily. I left them all to it, not wanted to get involved with such hateful words. All I could think about was how the committee could have left a man such as him in charge of us – surely there were umpteen thousand checks for the application, even if he had never gone through our approval to get the job. Was the committee really that corrupt, and if they were, they who on God's earth had been sending us on these missions?

Abuse was hurled at Cross from all corners – I can vaguely recollect someone shouting about how they tried to send the Avengers on a mission whilst I had been missing, and Steve complaining about how Cross had changed his mission plans for him. For once, everything was falling into place sweetly. Things made sense; General Cross had been the inside man all along. My hunch was now one shared by all the Avengers and only now confirmed by the actions of Cross himself. I watched him as he withered under the gaze of the others, his bravado shattered and looking very small indeed. Good riddance to him.

Now, it was all over.


	29. Chapter 29 - Epilogue

**I do not own the Avengers or Spiderman.**

 **AN: I have no idea what happened to this chapter, it just got longer and longer! It's the final chapter so enjoy. I'll say more at the end.**

Needless to say that the entirety of the Avengers team, especially an angry team, against one man would never end well. There was no contest at all, just a heavy defeat and a black eye curtesy of Tony Stark. It wasn't even 5 minutes later when Cross found himself on the very jet the Avengers had almost taken off from, only instead of his previous plan where it would take them on a mission away from the tower, he had booked himself on a one-way ticket to the Raft. An escort was personally provided by Hawkeye and Black Widow themselves, the former deciding he wanted to turn the key on the cell himself.

Honestly, I couldn't care less about what happened to him now: that stage of my life was over and it was time to move on. Not that that part was easy – at first, things seemed to get better on an exponential scale – only a couple of days later not to mention after a heap load of food to get my strength and enhanced healing working, Bruce was officially able to declare me well and truly fit for duty.

Alongside my own physical changes, the Avengers changed towards me too. Sure, they were still themselves -they weren't walking on eggshells around me anymore, but there was still a difference. Maybe my words did have an effect after all – I'd have to accept that I was always going to be the baby of the group, but they all stopped thinking of me as less than them. No-one went easy on me when we trained; when planning potential strategies, no-one gave me the rubbish role just to keep me out of harm's way: they gave me the job best suited for my abilities; and the next time things went bad, I knew they wouldn't ask me to go home. If anything, it just went to show how differently they were treating me before.

Of course, I may not be a child to them anymore, but like it or not, I was still a kid and there were some parts of that title which I would never be able to get away from…. Like School. Ok, so I can't complain too much – There was no way that I could go back to Midtown or any actual school, but the alternatively created for me was interesting to say the least. I can probably, and by that I mean with almost 100 percent certainty, say that I am the first person on earth who has been taught by an AI. Karen took over most of my schooling, but Steve was always around to give me a history lesson or two – I could listen to his stories all day. Bruce took over the sciences, and unlike school where experiments were controlled tenfold with over a hundred 'do's and don'ts', the labs we did together were far more creative. We even accidently evacuated the entire compound once when one went pear-shaped. Tony's speciality was engineering. It was mostly free reign when we got into his workshop, but I still learnt a whole lot more with him at my side than my pathetic teacher at school ever taught us. Natasha kept quizzing me on my language skills, and everyone else chipped in whenever they could, but apart from that, we were in Karen's teaching territory.

It seemed like the Avengers could do anything if they put their mind to it – save the world from an alien threat, done; create a school for a teenager with superhero powers, easy. But they couldn't recreate everything in my old life.

Clint was one of the few who, as a self-proclaimed high school dropout, couldn't do anything schooling related. Instead, he gave me something far more important. It was only a few days after I had been given the all clear when he snuck into my room at night. He quite obviously hadn't been given any permission to do this, because we had to creep around the base, pausing whenever any Avenger related personal came along. Eventually, we made it to the roof and onto a jet. Despite everything connected to the Avengers being branding with the logo for publicity, the first thing I noticed, was that this one was completely devoid of anything on the outside telling anyone who owned it. As soon as we were in the air, a cloaking device was activated so we couldn't be seen – when we landed I found out why.

We touched ground in a small field, beyond which lay a path leading to a rather picturesque white house with green shutters. I looked at Clint curiously, wondering where on earth we were and why we were here, but instead of giving a sensible answer, all he did was smirk and say,

"Wait and see." He strode off down the path, his pace fast considering there didn't seem to be any particular hurry to get anywhere. Once inside the house, he gave me a quick glance and a wink before calling out:

"Honey, I'm home." As if it had been on que, I heard footsteps come pounding down the stairs. Before I knew what was happening, Clint was scooping two kids into his arms, with a third being a little slower and just behind the others. There were squeals of delight and noise as Clint knelt down on his knees to greet the people who could only be his children. I had almost forgotten he had them, it had been a long time since he had first mentioned them. I hung back, feeling slightly awkward as yet another person came sliding into the room. Clint looked up immediately upon his wife's arrival, a smile on his face that could only be described as pure content and happiness.

It wasn't long before I too was swept into a hug by this woman, her motherly instincts noticing my unease at being just an onlooker. Sure enough, I was soon being ushered into the next room as though I was one of them.

Clint and his wife Laura had 3 kids in total: Cooper who was 12 and who loved playing with Lego (If I got the chance, that was going to be one hobby I was definitely going to encourage); 10 year old Lila who had been taking lessons from Natasha and was turning out to be a formidable dancer/gymnast; and tiny Nathanial, who was 3 and spent his time tottering around, mostly watching everyone else. Their likeness to Clint was uncanny, and though I only spent a day with them, I knew that Cooper and Lila had the potential if they wanted to take over from Clint one day and become mini Hawkeye's themselves.

I appreciated the day more than anyone knew – there was a normality about it that I had been lacking. It wasn't like the compound where an artificial intelligence ran the place, technology and gizmos littered the building and during the day at least, you would see government people around every corner. Instead, there was hardly any technology at all, not even a TV; and being on a remote farm, the chances of you coming across someone were slim to none. It felt like I didn't have to worry about anything here – the world could go to hell and back and I wouldn't know.

But it wasn't exactly the same kind of normal that I was used to either – it wasn't like Queens, and though Laura was a mother at heart, she wasn't Aunt May. I left the place feeling slightly hollow, it had been the best day in months and yet all it did was remind me of what I had been missing. Clint was quite melancholy too, and when he paused upon reaching the jet as we made to leave, I thought for a moment he was going to turn right around there and then to go back inside. Instead, he sat down on the lowered entrance, gesturing me to sit beside him.

We rested in silence for a while, simply watching the sun beating down on the rolling fields.

"You know, the best kept secret is one no-one knows about." Clint said suddenly and without warning, leaning back as he relaxed. "That's the best thing about this place, no-one knows it exists. I don't get to see them that often but at least they will always be safe." I thought back to how innocently Lila was playing with Cooper's Lego bricks – already a feeling of protectiveness had come over me. It was scary how oblivious they had been as to what might happen if people knew they existed, but it was better that way.

Aunt May didn't hadn't have that luxury – she had been forced to move her home, even change her name just to keep safe. Last I heard, she was still living as Eva Lisbon in Ohio.

"Tony's been setting something up." Clint continued, "There's going to be a car crash soon, and the post-mortem will release to the public a few dates later that the victim was none other than your Aunt May who had been secretly living as Eva. Now be warned, the press will go mad – they've been wondering where she has been ever since you went public and now they will finally know. In their eyes, Spiderman's only living relative will cease to exist but that means your enemies won't be able to hurt your real Aunt."

"We have contacts that will be able to keep your Aunt May under the radar for a while. When Maylene Stewart moves into 2 Summerfield Close, the next house over, about a month later, no one will think anything of it." I looked up incredulously, wondering what he was saying. Did he really mean what I thought he did?

"I can live with her again?" I asked disbelievingly. Clint replied immediately before I could think on that any further.

"Not live with her. Officially, you'd be a minor with no guardian, so you'd be expected and need to be seen at the Avengers compound. But, when you get leave, you can visit just like I do for my folks." I sat dumbfounded – it wasn't perfect, but it was so much better than never seeing her at all. I couldn't help but smile incredulously as I realised the truth.

"You wait." Clint continued, "Laura and May are going to gang up on us next. We'll never get a moment's peace." He chuckled. That didn't matter to me though – all that mattered was that soon enough, I would be with her again and things could go back to normal, albeit only lasting whenever I had leave.

That day was a while ago now though and even though I still hadn't yet had the chance to see her, the accident had officially happened so it was only a matter of time before the next stage of the plan could be implemented.

Tony had spent so much time sorting things for me – it wasn't just this, although Aunt May had been the main one. He also gave me a new phone: it was based on the latest Stark Phone, but it was obvious that the man himself had upgraded it even further than that judging by how much it wasn't to the standard specification. It was certainly a bit of an improvement on my old flip phone which Tony had made no effort to return so was probably still lying around Tony's lab somewhere.

He had even managed to keep my number the same, something that came in very useful when Ned called me in the second week back. I had been losing a game of chess against Vision when it came through – quickly excusing myself, I walked out into the other room, trying not to let the surprise show on my face.

"Ned?" I asked curiously. The last time we had spoken had been pretty intense – I owed him a lot.

"Peter, you won't believe what has just happened." He said, and before I could ask the question he was hinting at, he was already on the answer, "I've just been given an internship at Stark Industries." I stood startled for a moment, my brain trying to catch up with what he said. Letting out a huff of surprise, I replied:

"Wow, that's… Congrats mate, you deserve it." I stammered out.

"Yeah, they just rung me up, out of the blue. I get to work every other weekend. Man, it's going to be awesome."

"That sounds amazing." It really did – Stark Industries internships were really rare, hence why no-one would believe me at school when I said I had one. They were right of course, mine was only a cover up, though the real thing would be incredible. Honestly, there was a slight twinge of jealously in me that bubbled slightly on the surface before I quickly squished the thought down. Ned deserved this after all.

"I didn't even know you had applied." I admitted to Ned, though this was hardly surprising given our amount of contact recently. Then, my thoughts were quickly brought down to earth.

"What?" Ned questioned, "Peter, you idiot." I blinked, taken aback at this exclamation. "It's not a real internship – Stark doesn't give those. It just means I get to go to the compound every so often." I looked up suddenly, even though Ned wouldn't have been able to see that.

"That… That means. You… We can." I stammered.

"We are having a movie marathon. Oh, and can I be your 'guy in the chair again?'" Ned was off in a moment, barely letting me get a word in edgeways. I had missed this and couldn't help but smile fondly. I leant back against the wall and let his words roll over me, I wasn't really taking anything in and I didn't really have to. Looking around, I spotted Tony walking past, looking at me with eyebrows raised though I was sure he knew exactly what was going on. Gratefully, I mouthed 'Thank You' before he walked away to leave us in peace.

My relationship with Tony was improving tenfold. There was still a part of him that would always treat me slightly differently – everyone did to an extent. There had long been a special bond between everyone in the team, a result of having been through certain experiences that no-one else could relate to. Thought there were circumstances like school in which everyone treated like a child, what Tony didn't try to do, was treat me like his child – he would make sure I was ok, but he would never tell me what to do.

As for Tony and Pepper? Well they were talking to each other once again and were definitely closer than they had been, but there had been no announcement of any sort just yet. Even so, at the rate things were going, I wouldn't have to wait too long before I became a big brother.

On paper, I was supposed to be completely back to normal. I had my family back and I had friends, both old ones and new. My injuries were healed, and the threat had passed.

It didn't feel like it all the time though.

I couldn't sleep. At first, my solution was to lie awake for most of the night whilst counting sheep. Whenever I did succumb to the darkness, my night was plagued with the images that I would rather forget. I would wake up, sweating and sticky, feeling weak as I remembered how helpless I had been when faced with the knife. If Clint hadn't turned up, Leon would have stabbed me and I wouldn't have been here today.

You'd have thought that being Spiderman and all, I would have faced up to the reality of death before now. Having lost my parents, and my Uncle, I had never been blind to the fact that it had always been a possibility, and if you'd asked me before, I would have probably said that I was prepared for it.

I hadn't been though. There's a big difference between knowing it is a possibility and seeing that possibility right before your eyes. It could happen to any of us in this job – the reality was one that I had never wanted to admit to.

I had never been so scared as I had been in that base. The fear pumping through your veins, the helplessness you feel as a victim. When I finally returned to my duties as Spiderman, the feeling made me realise just how important my role was. There had been someone there for me when I was scared and alone. If I could take anything from my experience, it was that people should never be alone, and if Spiderman could help with that, then you can be sure he will.

Things got better when I restarted my night-time patrols. I had increased the amount of time I spent on them, a result of being home-schooled and not having to keep with the pace of others nor the school timetable, but every second felt that much more important than before. Even if it was just helping a little old lady across the road, or something bigger like stopping a rapist or bank robber, I took great pride in the work.

My tongue, having been held captive as Peter Parker, ran riot when I was out at night – it seemed like there was a plethora of jokes to be told, not all of them good mind, and sarcastic comebacks. Talking like that gave me a sense of freedom right from the beginning: though I could never speak like that as Peter Parker, the anonymity of Spiderman has always meant I could say exactly what I wanted when I wanted. More importantly, Spiderman wasn't scared of anything.

If I were to take an example of this, it would be the Manhattan Raid. Yeah I know, a bit out of the way of my usual patch, but I had been tracking this gang for weeks and that was where their next target was. They were 5 of them in this group, all seemingly highly trained professionals so were very different from the usual thugs I took down. They carried knives and guns and could wield them as easily as though they were nothing more than an extension of themselves. Their targets: some of the biggest banks in New York. They were after money in any shape and form, only they didn't care who got in their way.

Probably the most sensible thing for me to have done would be to call in some backup – the other Avengers had told me so many times that I could do just that so I wouldn't have been overstepping the mark. Only I had been tracking these people for ages – I knew exactly what they could do and how they did it. I even knew where their next targets were so I would have the element of surprise. Sure, they weren't a simple enemy, but at the end of the day, they were just men who I could deal with. This wasn't something I was doing all gun's blazing – I was prepared.

I went to their chosen bank early to set up half a dozen web grenade spots. I had been working on them all week with Tony and Bruce – they were tiny pockets of web fluid that I could place around any room and could release remote via Karen. After that all I had to do was wait. The roof I had chosen across the street was a perfect viewing point for the street below. The wind was a little chilly, and not for the first time I wished that my suit was made of more than just fabric. I took my mask away from my face – it was easier to hear the music that was blaring through my headphones that way. It was the only thing that was keeping me awake right now.

Eventually, there was some movement. Anxiously, I got to my feet and carefully climbed down the side of the building, making a concerted effort not to be seen. As I entered the bank and leant against the wall, I felt a small sense of déjà vu – the situation had some familiarities.

"Oi, I think you'll find they're closed." I quipped loudly, "They open tomorrow at 8 if you want to come in then." There were 5 masked faces looking up at me – they hadn't yet been able to get into the safe of the bank, so the money was secure for now, but their machinery was littered across the floor and there was a crack where they had attempted to cut through the wall.

"Or if you are really busy then, you can always do it online you know. Well I guess you have to be pretty good at hacking for that." I said offhandedly.

"You're Spiderman?" one of the men questioned.

"You've heard of me? I'm flattered." I joked, wincing as my voice squeaked out at a higher octave than I would have liked. Then, whilst they were distracted by my ramblings, I silently gave Karen the ok. Instantly, I jumped up onto the ceiling and out the way as the web grenades were released with a loud bang, a special but completely unnecessary effect that I added. Sure enough the room was quickly covered with sticky gluey webbing, trapping the men in their places.

"Well don't hang around. If you've got a transaction to do, get on and do it – I don't have all night." I joked, turning around so I could call the police. It was as I was holding the phone to my ear, the number already dialled in, when things turned sour.

In an instant, I was swept of my feet as a blast of warm air brushed past me. There was a loud bang as a ball of smoke erupted, covering the room from view. I turned back around in time to avoid a knife that was flung my way. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

"Seriously, I thought you were done here." I laughed, not at all fazed despite the change of power. The men used the time in which they were covered from view to cut themselves free from the webs, an easy job with their knives. I blinked for a moment, taking note of how the smoke was starting the creep outside the door and onto the street, catching the attention of the people outside. I hoped they would get the message and not come in: I really didn't need to have to deal with civilians on top of everything else.

I had planned the scenario meticulously, but I hadn't realised they had smoke bombs – regardless, it was still a mistake for them to use them. The world might know Spiderman, but they didn't know what I could do. My enhanced eyesight was able to see through the smoke a lot quicker than they could meaning I was able to trap 3 of them once again before they could even fully react, this time also relieving them of their weapons.

Heart beating slightly faster than normal, I tried to stay calm as things picked up. One man tried to fight me. He took a lunge at my side, which I sidestepped and flipped him onto his back easily, webbing him to the ground. These guys might have been more professional than most, but they were still stupid, and I was still enhanced. Moreover, despite their weapons, they hadn't really expected company and were entirely unprepared for such a scenario. Kicking the knife and gun from his hands and webbing them too on the complete other side of the room, I ran after the last man who, being the coward he was, had decided to abandon his friends and run – yet another mistake on their part.

I chased him outside onto the street, following him via Karen who was doing all the hard work for me. Passer-by's looked curiously as I passed, but all I gave them was a cheeky grin and a wave as my phone installed in Karen began to vibrate. Not slowing my pace, I answered.

"What are you doing kid?" Tony asked – he didn't seem angry, merely curious and slightly concerned. I looked up, for the first time spotting the helicopter circling up ahead. I could easily pick out a TV camera poking out of it, presumably offering a live stream to the news channel.

"Look never mind about that – do you need a hand?" Tony tried again when I didn't answer. I hesitated slightly, taking the left turn a moment after the man had.

"Err…Where's he going?" I questioned, not to Tony but to myself, "No, I've got this, thanks." I then replied to him. The final criminal was clearly not a local for the route he was taking was entirely shocking. It seriously didn't take me long at all to catch up despite his head start.

"You there. Yes, I'm talking to you," I shouted, ignoring Tony's wince as it came through on his side far too loud. "Game's over." I webbed him from afar, catching his shoulder and pulling it towards me. Before I got to him, he whipped his knife out, cutting the web which made me fall to the ground with a huff as I was suddenly pulling nothing.

"Wow man, not fair." I grumbled,

"Ow, you hurt your bottom." Tony joked, knowing I was not really hurt. The TV cameras were still clearly showing everything. I jumped to my feet, diving behind a skip as the man pulled out his gun.

"Shut up."

"Yeah, no can do. This is great entertainment, Nat's got out the vodka." So it wasn't just Tony, they were all watching the footage – just want I needed. I had better not make a mess of this. The loud gunshot cracked through the air, pinging as it hit the side of the skip.

"Ok, this is getting serious. You sure you don't want that backup." Tony wasn't joking anymore – the gun made this a whole different ball game. I didn't reply. Instead I took a deep breath and jumped up onto the wall, my spider sense going crazy as I avoided, ducked and dodged any bullet that came my way. As soon as I got sufficient height, I turned around and jumped away, twisting in mid-air and attaching the web to the wall I had just departed. I soared over the criminal, so I was behind him and when the rope went taut I was swung back the other way. Upon my return to the wall, I kicked the criminal on his back causing him to flail to the ground, the gun flying out of his hand on impact.

"I think I'm good." I replied to Tony eventually, securing the man tightly to the ground.

"Uh huh." Tony replied, he seemed a little out of it, as though he had only just realised I was super-powered and was in shock. "Err…listen kid. You in the mood for pizza. We're ordering some in." he got back on track.

"Sure" I walked away from the scene, happy to leave now that my job was done, "Can we get it from Rizzo's? Their garlic bread is seriously good."

"Hey, Spiderman. You are dead meat. I'll get you for this." The criminal called after me.

"Yeah, whatever." I called back, not caring less. I had heard that kind of talk all before. I opened my mouth to reply to Tony, already having forgotten his reply, but before I could speak, yet another person interrupted us.

"That was awesome. You're Peter Parker? You're Spiderman. Man this is so cool." I stopped suddenly in my tracks, digesting what he said. It was only an innocent by-stander: I had no idea who he was, but something about his words took me by surprise.

It had been ages since the world learnt my name. They knew I was Spiderman now, it should hardly have been a surprise that he called me by my real name, not just as Spiderman. It just, felt different coming from someone I didn't know. I guess I had been so caught up in the fact that people knew Peter Parker was Spiderman that I think I had forgotten that in the same sentence, the world also learnt that Spiderman was Peter Parker.

Maybe I should explain: for as long as I can remember, I have thought of Spiderman and me as being two different entities. Spiderman was the cool one, the one who was the hero and would save the day, always with a quick comeback to any comment made. The Peter version of me was far more mundane. I was a certified nerd, bullied, no family and pretty much a complete loner. Then, that normal life of my mine was flipped upside down as the world found out that Peter Parker was Spiderman. It was like a rug had been swept out from underneath me: all of a sudden, I was cool and people wanted to claim as being my friend. The media scrambled for every piece of information they could find about me. Me, the boring nerd, was suddenly famous and my normal mundane world ended.

Then things went from bad to worse, and then better, a rollercoaster of emotions in the months since the announcement. In that time, I had been so caught up in everything that I hadn't realised something so blatantly obvious that it was staring me in the face. People didn't just see the nerd as Spiderman, they also saw the hero, as Peter Parker. The man that swung around the city as though he owned the place, saving lives and being the children of New York's idol, was me, Peter. In that moment, Spiderman's life had changed too.

"Hey Kid, I'm not waiting all day." Tony's voice interrupting my thoughts.

"Err… yeah." I said softly, starting to walk once more, "I'm on my way."

I let out a burst of webbing, and with a final wave at the guy who had called out, I swung off through the city, rejoicing at the freedom of the wind against me. Then, in a moment of impulse, for the first time in my life, I pulled away my mask, letting the world see me as me.

Spiderman was Peter Parker,

And Peter Parker was me.

So, if Spiderman could overcome anything, then so could I.

"I'm coming home." I whispered in the darkness, believing it once and for all.

 **AN: And that is it. I hope you enjoyed the ride.**

 **I want to thank everyone who has read this story, especially those who have favourited, followed and reviewed. I never imagined when starting this story that it would get this level of response, and I am humbled by it. A special thanks in particular to those of you who have been with this story right from the very beginning - you know who you are, and so do I by your reviews!**

 **Please keep the comments coming in. They always make my day.**

 **Infinity War is amazing by the way. There will not be any spoilers here, but its definitely well worth a visit to the cinema!**

 **In the meantime, thank you once again for your support and I'm sure I'll be back writing something else soon enough.**


End file.
